


Full of Surprises

by dnofsunshine



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drabble Collection, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Fictober 2019, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Genres vary, Loneliness, Lots of Platonic Shiemi/Rin, Major Character Injury, Mentions of Afterlife, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Death, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-camping arc, Sass Queen Izumo, Sharing a Bed, Soft Gentle Rin, Temporary blind character, no death though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 59
Words: 35,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dnofsunshine/pseuds/dnofsunshine
Summary: He's well-known for being the spawn of the king of Gehenna. But contrary to popular belief, Rin is the furthest thing from a demon. A series of Rin-centric drabbles in which he proves that he, as the son of Satan, is full of surprises. Genres vary. Currently 60 parts.
Relationships: Okumura Rin & Exwires, Okumura Rin & Okumura Yukio
Comments: 263
Kudos: 772





	1. purr

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own AnE! This is posted on ffn, and I didn't know if I should post it here? But, well, here we are. :) There'll be updates every ever other day.

Yukio's brow twitched in annoyance. He'd been facing the chalkboard for the past few minutes during his lecture, and when he finally turned around, the first thing he noticed was that his twin brother was snoozing quite contently at his desk. He'd probably been asleep for the past ten or twenty minutes.

While Yukio had long grown accustomed to his brother taking naps during school hours, it did not mean that he was not irritated by it. He knew well that Rin was dead serious about being an exorcist—but right now, it seemed Rin wasn't so determined to follow through with that promise. Being an exorcist meant more than just swinging his sword around. He'd have to study, too.

It'd be exceedingly difficult for Rin to study when he used the majority of his classes to catch up on sleep.

Lips pursed in a thin line, Yukio closed the book in his hand rather loudly, briskly walking up to Rin's seat with every intention of slamming it on his desk to snap him out of slumber.

Then, from her seat next to him, Shiemi murmured, "Yuki-chan… wait."

He paused obediently, giving her a quizzical look. "What?"

She was leaning closer to Rin, listening intently. "I think… he's purring."

"No way." That was Shima, whose eyes had widened in disbelief and curiosity. He'd shot up from his seat and wasted no time in seeing if what Shiemi had said was true. Knelt down next to Rin before he said, "Holy hell, you're right. He's like a cat."

Suguro stood up, the ever-present scowl on his face. "Have you two lost your minds? I bet he's not actually—"

He stopped when he neared Rin, and the doubtful expression was wiped clean from his face as he was quickly proved wrong. Yukio, now, looked down at his sleeping brother, just as curious as his students. Gently, he lowered his book and focused in the silence to hear what they heard.

Indeed, very softly, Rin was purring. A low, rumbling sound, not unlike a feline; and despite the attention he was receiving from his classmates (Kamiki and Miwa were now coming to see for themselves what all the commotion was about) and younger brother, Rin did not stir from his nap. The sound seemed to grow louder now that they were all quiet.

"Well. Isn't that something?" Suguro muttered under his breath.

Yukio's lips twitched with a small, fond smile, having abandoned his agitation for amazement at this new discovery. "You're full of surprises, aren't you, Nii-san?"


	2. butterfly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. :) Feedback is appreciated.

With a sickening roar, the demon they'd been sent to slay charged toward the already-prepared group of Exwires. The ground beneath them trembled violently and caused some of them to stumble, including Konekomaru. Occupied with the task of reciting scripture, Konekomaru did not have time to catch himself and would have fallen to the ground and been trampled if it weren't for Okumura-kun's quick arm on his back, holding him in place.

He was going to send a brief thank-you glance to his classmate before he heard him gasp in something akin to shock or horror. "No…"

And then his hand on Konekomaru's back was gone. There was a gush of wind, so sudden and so strong that it caused Konekomaru's clothes to shudder under the force of it. Okumura-kun was no longer next to him. As soon as he was moving, a flurry of voices exploded around the group, barely audible over the raging demon's stampede:

"Rin, don't!"

"Okumura, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

" _Nii-san!_ "

There was a deafening bang as Okumura-sensei fired his guns before the demon could cause any harm, hitting his intended target with perfect aim. Kamiki-san ordered her familiars to help without hesitation, and there was an intense flash of blue.

Rin had unsheathed his sword and burst into flames, leaping into the air, narrowly avoiding being bitten. Pushed the blade deep into the giant demon's head.

The demon submitted to the power of their attacks with a ghastly shriek and scattered into thousands of tiny black specks. The group stood all panting and wide-eyed as the tension from their latest mission began to ebb.

Then Okumura-sensei, along with an irritable, seething Bon, strode forward, seeming ready to lecture him.

And lecture him they did.

"Why'd you have to go and scare us like that?" Bon shouted. "Charging in all by yourself? You could've gotten yourself killed!"

Okumura-sensei looked equally worried, telling his brother that such reckless behavior was uncalled for and demanding what in Assiah had possessed him to rush so senselessly into battle.

In response, Okumura-kun scratched his cheek and offered a sheepish grin, strangely resembling a child who had just been caught doing something they shouldn't have.

"Relax, no harm done," he said airily. Then he looked down at his hand, which was curled delicately as if protecting something. "I saw this little guy and knew if I didn't do something he was going to be crushed."

His fingers uncoiled slowly, carefully, revealing to them what lay inside his palm: a tiny, defenseless, colorful butterfly.

Konekomaru's eyes widened slightly. A butterfly. He'd just thoughtlessly risked his life to save a _butterfly._

Bon and Kamiki-san scoffed in disbelief. Moriyama-san smiled gently, but the concerned glint in her eyes did not fade. Okumura-sensei just stared, bewildered, and Konekomaru felt as stunned as his teacher. As the butterfly fluttered away from Okumura-kun's open hands, however, he simply watched it go with a tenderness that no demon could ever possess.

Konekomaru suddenly found himself smiling. What a strange person Okumura-kun was.


	3. amazed

Rin's eyes were blown wide with disbelief and utter amazement. In his hands was a sketchbook, gaze never leaving it for a moment. Even as he said in awe, "No way. You _drew_ this?"

Kamiki Izumo frowned, refusing to lose her composure. She was _not_ going to admit aloud that his reaction to her work secretly pleased her. It didn't matter that her classmate looked like a little kid who had just been guided into a candy store and was told he could have anything he wanted. It didn't matter that the wonderment stitched into his voice made him seem equally childlike. It didn't matter that his tail was wagging like an excited puppy and—

"Oh, just give it back, will you?" Izumo snatched it from his hands without waiting for a reply, fighting back the burn in her cheeks. "Jeez, you're acting like you've never seen someone draw before."

Rin was already peering around her shoulder, head so close to hers she could hear him breathing. "C'mon, let me see it again, please?"

"Go bother someone else," she said flatly and huffed when he didn't budge. "Go _away_ , idiot."

"But it's good! I can't believe you drew it! With your own two hands! How cool!"

Izumo scowled in annoyance, but when it became obvious that Rin was not going to let her be, no matter how much she insulted or berated him, she sighed. Slid the sketchbook with enough force that it put some distance between the two. His eyes lit up, marveling at each stroke of her pencil.

_This_ was the spawn of Satan that everyone was so afraid of. This was the human-demon hybrid who evoked so much fear within the higher-ups in the academy that they'd tried sentencing him to death.

Izumo rolled her eyes. Demon? Please. Grinning wide, eyes shining in admiration, tail brushing against the floor over a simple _drawing_ , this boy couldn't hurt a damn fly.


	4. fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heads up: this drabble takes place during the anime, not the manga!

The entire way home from the swordsmith in Kyoto, Rin was quiet. Sure, all Yukio did was use his key to transport them back to their dorm, so it only took a few minutes, but after bidding their farewells to the swordsmith, after an awkward goodbye to the other Exwires, Rin just turned around and walked off without a word.

Yukio had not pushed it. He knew that expression on his brother's face—he was lost in his thoughts. Thoughts which likely consisted of the events that had transpired during their camping trip with the other students. Yukio expected this. He was surprised, however, when Rin wandered passed the kitchen and headed toward the stairs.

"Nii-san? It's nearing seven. Aren't you hungry?"

Rin paused for only a heartbeat before continuing his trek to their room. "No. I'm gonna go to bed."

Quiet. Robotic. That was how the words came out. Yukio frowned, watching him ascend the stairs with slightly-concealed worry.

Kuro came down to eat, but only finished half of the meal Ukobach so passionately served them before treading back upstairs. Yukio himself could not find his appetite, even though he hadn't eaten since noon. It was dreadfully quiet without his brother's company.

When Yukio opened the door to their dorm, Rin was curled up on his bed, facing the wall, tail circling around his body almost protectively. Kuro was tucked in close to his abdomen.

"Nii-san," Yukio prompted.

"They all hate me."

His voice was the same as before: soft, flat. A shadow of the brother whom Yukio became an exorcist to protect.

"They don't hate you."

A dark, humorless chuckle. "It was written all over their faces."

"Maybe they just need time," he offered.

"I don't _have_ time, Yukio." This was true. Rin sat up suddenly and turned to face him, tail angrily swishing across the sheets. "I don't have anything anymore! No friends! No time! No control! Because I screwed up! I just wanted to protect them but I screwed up and—"

His voice broke, eyes watering, and Yukio saw an emotion that looked extremely foreign on his brother's face. An emotion that had, before now, lay dormant under years and years of barely-controlled rage and overly-built confidence and carelessness:

Fear.

Rin was scared.

Because time was not on their side. Because he was only fifteen and death was quickly approaching and his friends seemed like they were abandoning him and the weight of it all sat too heavy on his shoulders and Rin—brash, strong, unbreakable Rin—looked undeniably and eminently _scared._

And, for once, Yukio wasn't sure how to save him.


	5. sleep-deprived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is incredibly stupid. XD I wrote when I was sleep-deprived. Feedback is much appreciated!

Bon's brows shot up in surprise. No fucking way did Okumura cook all of this for them, not at this hour, and certainly not in his state.

They had all stayed over for the night due to the fact that it was a weekend and they'd all stayed up late studying for the test the following Monday. This place had more than enough space for them all anyway, since sensei and Okumura were the only ones who lived here.

"I can't believe it," Shima said with wide eyes. "Did he do this in his _sleep?_ "

"He didn't go to bed until after four in the morning," Konekomaru murmured, looking equally shocked. "How did he have the energy to do this?"

In front of them was enough food for all of them, spread out with the help of the demon the Okumura brothers called Ukobach.

"Hey, Rin?" Shiemi murmured, looking heavily concerned. "You didn't have to do this. You look so tired."

Rin made some sort of grunt noise, passing by her as if he didn't see her. All four of them watched as he sluggishly made his way to the commons area, even his tail conveying a message of pure exhaustion.

Without a second thought, Rin curled up on the floor, closed his eyes, and passed out.

Bon stared.

"Um. What just happened?" Shima asked.

Behind them, Okumura-sensei had reached the bottom of the stairs. He muttered to himself, "Nii-san, we know you are good at cooking. It was unnecessary for you to prove that you could do it even in your sleep."

Rin, understandably, did not reply.

The other Exwires just looked at each other in shock.


	6. brothers

Okumura-sensei was the definition of professionalism.

Even though he was the same age as his students, he acted much older, much wiser. His expression was always stoic, barely any hint of emotion, even in battle. He never let his guard down, even if class was not in session.

So Izumo was shocked, to say the least, when she woke up to Rin and Okumura-sensei _arguing._

And over the stupidest thing, too.

"C'mon, moley Four-Eyes, if you didn't touch it, then who did? Huh?" Rin asked heatedly with his arms crossed, glaring little knives at him.

"Why do you always assume it's me?" Okumura-sensei snapped back. "Did you try looking in the kitchen?"

"I looked _everywhere._ The last place I had it was in _our_ dorm, so that leaves you as the only option!"

"I didn't touch your stupid game!"

"Sometimes I have a hard time believing they're _brothers,_ 'cause they're so different," Shima said from beside her as the argument progressed. "I can see it now."

Konekomaru nodded sagely. "Only Okumura-kun can make Sensei act like this."

That was true. Only Rin could evoke so much emotion in him that his mask would splinter and break. Only Rin could make him act like a normal teenager.

This was proven before, when Rin's demonic identity had been revealed and they'd fixed the Kurikara. Yukio had bowed to them, pleading for their help, looking scared and uncertain. The same expression painted his face when Izumo tossed the Kurikara to him so he could get it to an unconscious and bruised Rin.

Now, well, now he just looked extremely annoyed, if not pissed.

"What did you do with it, stupid mole face?"

"I told you, I didn't touch it! Don't call me mole face!"

"Oh, jeeze," Izumo muttered, scowling. This argument was getting old. When were they going to move on with their day?

"Rin and Yuki-chan sure are angry at each other," Moriyama said with a hint of uncertainty.

Neither of the brothers heard the two girls. Their fight was quickly escalating—Rin now had Okumura-sensei's collar in an iron grip and was shouting in his face. Okumura-sensei was shouting back just as loud.

"Hey, what's going on? What's with all the screaming?" Suguro asked, suddenly joining the group.

Izumo rolled her eyes. "Don't even ask."


	7. pet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting these here makes me want to get back into writing on ffn. it's been a while. i miss this story. :)

A vein twitched in Yukio's forehead. "Nii-san… what is that?"

Rin chuckled sheepishly. "Uhh… a dog?"

"I _know_ what it is," Yukio deadpanned. "I _meant_ , what is it doing in our dorm?"

Rin looked down at the animal, who, in response, wagged its tail and glanced at Yukio in innocent curiosity. Without even thinking about it, Rin mimicked the gesture. His tail swayed slowly behind him.

"He was just wandering the streets with no food or water. What was I supposed to do? Leave him?"

"Sir Pheles is going to be angry."

"Yukio, Mephisto _is_ a dog."

"Wha—? Nii-san!" Yukio pinched the bridge of his nose as though to ward off a headache. "Fine. One night. He can stay one night."

As if actually understanding him, the dog barked happily, tail wagging in enthusiasm. Rin, too, seemed satisfied with this response and his tail conveyed a similar message of excitement. "Great! C'mere boy!"

Yukio sighed in exasperation as his brother made his way to the kitchen with the dog right behind him.

Somewhere across the dorm, Kuro was mewing in jealousy.


	8. paper cut

Shiemi was staring hard at her textbook as if the determination in her eyes was all it took to transfer the information on the page into her brain. And it wasn't that she couldn't memorize it, not really. She just couldn't do it as easily as Suguro-san or Kamiki-san could.

Her resolve faltered as the thought crossed her mind. Perhaps she should—

"Ouch," she hissed abruptly, pulling her finger away from the page. Her eyes widened when blood oozed out of the fresh wound now marking her skin. A paper cut.

Only a few seconds later, Shiemi heard loud, thundering footsteps. She glanced up, the pain in her gaze shifting to surprise. It wasn't long before the door to the classroom swung open, revealing a panicked-looking Rin.

Her eyes met his instantly. Frantic concern was etched across his face.

"Are you ok, Shiemi? What happened? I smelled blood and—"

Shiemi's face felt hot. "Ah, Rin—I—y-yes, I'm ok!"

Darn it. Why was she so bad with words? Before she could properly explain, Kamiki-san scoffed on the other side of the room.

"She was just clumsy and got a paper cut. She's fine."

Rin circled around the desk, sagging forward with relief. Shiemi felt guilt prick at her. She hadn't meant to worry him. So much so that he'd bolted down the hall to see if she was alright.

Wait a second. A soft smile pulled at her lips suddenly, and she felt deeply touched. He'd _bolted_ down the hall to see if she was alright.

That was... kind of sweet.


	9. dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! :D feedback is much appreciated!

Rin was prepping vegetables for supper. He had music playing while he worked, soft notes reaching his sensitive ears with ease. He nodded his head slowly to the beat, knife coming down to slice the celery on his cutting board quickly and flawlessly.

And then the song became more intense, growing a little louder. Rin's tail swished behind him in sync with the music and he bobbed his head faster without breaking focus on the task in front of him. Music was nice. Music was good.

He was humming under his breath as he transferred the celery to the pot on the stove, turning around to cut up a few carrots. His hips swayed back and forth with each step. Yes. Very good music.

_I need to get the—oh, yesssss… guitar solo._

Rin set the knife and cutting board down, spinning around with exaggerated speed to stay in tune with the beat of the song. He skidded to the other side of the room with ease, wide smile on his face as reached up high to get an extra dish down from its respective shelf.

Cradling it in his hands, he made his way back to the stove, rocking his body back and forth again. Then his hands were free and he threw his arms up, waving them in the air, tail not missing a beat. His humming became louder and he spun around again, thrusting a hip out dramatically.

_This is my jam._

Rin froze when he heard somebody clearing their throat by the entrance of the kitchen. Yukio. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Eh heh heh..." On instinct Rin flashed a cheeky grin, reaching behind him for the vegetables he'd abandoned when he got carried away with dancing. "Carrot?"


	10. nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the comments & kudos 💖 writing is hard for me right now since i'm in a bad headspace, so i appreciate the feedback. it makes my day. :)

Rin had been awake for almost an hour when he heard muffled gasping and whimpering on the other side of the dorm.

He blinked, confused and surprised. With his brows raised, Rin sat up, gently maneuvering Kuro off his lap and whispering quietly, "Yukio?"

He was greeted with silence. But as much as Yukio tried to hide it—was he holding his breath? Did he really think that would work?—Rin was not fooled. Even in the dark, he could see the tremors that claimed his brother's body.

"Yukio. You're obviously not asleep." Rin was frowning as he slid his legs over the side of his bed, tail lazily untangling itself from his blanket. "What's wrong?"

Silence.

"Damn it, Four Eyes, I—"

"I'm fine."

Rin's eyes narrowed at the stoic response. His ears were sensitive enough to hear the slight quiver in Yukio's voice. Wordlessly, he stood. Then he was crouching beside his twin's bed, a hand coming down to rest on Yukio's shoulder.

Yukio stayed facing away from him and did not react to the gesture. Rin asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"

No response. Rin sighed. "C'mere."

"Nii-san, I don't—"

"Shut up. I can see you shaking."

Yukio fell quiet again, and Rin's response was almost instinctive at this point: crawl into the bed and pull him close. Despite Yukio being a little taller than him, he seemed small at this moment, body folded up against Rin's chest, head tucked under his chin.

Nights like these happened too often, ever since they were tiny children, but neither of them spoke about them the next day. Neither of them needed to. Because Yukio was all hard looks and cold professionalism, a prodigy exorcist with no room for emotion. Because Rin oozed overconfidence that no one knew was false, an image of unwavering strength and foolish optimism.

"Sorry I woke you," Yukio murmured tiredly after a time.

Rin hummed under his breath and stared at the wall as his brother's body relaxed slightly. "No big deal. Try to go back to sleep."

Yukio nodded numbly and silently. Rin let his eyes drift shut and, like always, purposely omitted the fact that he'd suffered from the same thing that had caused Yukio to awake so violently.

The small conversation had, after all, calmed them both down enough to beckon them back into slumber.


	11. agent okumura

Yukio's lips were pursed into a thin line. "Nii-san, promise me you'll be careful while you're in there."

Rin nodded, biting back a sassy retort. They were on a mission where stealth was heavily important, and Yukio was using his "don't-fuck-this-up" voice. When he'd volunteered to be the bait to lure out a demon, Yukio had been against it from the first second and it had taken him almost the whole day to get him to crack.

On the other side of Yukio, Shura grinned at him in a much more relaxed manner. "'K, I'm gonna need ya to hold still, kid."

"What? Why?"

"To put a mic on ya, of course," she said easily, already tugging on his collar and clipping a tiny device to the back of the fabric. "We're givin' ya an earpiece, too."

Rin's eyes sparkled as she handed him said wireless ear piece. "For real? Sweet, I'm like an agent!"

"Remind me again why I agreed to let you do this," Yukio deadpanned, pinching in the bridge of his nose.

"'Cause I'm your older brother. Don't worry, Yukio, I did my research."

That only earned him an eye roll. "Reading crime-thriller manga doesn't count as research, Nii-san."

Rin bestowed him with his trademark cheeky grin, but before he could reply, Shura said into her pocket radio, "Can ya hear me in yer earpiece?"

"Yes."

"Ok. Lemme turn yer mic on and—gotcha. Try speakin' into it."

Rin paused. "Testing, testing. Over." And then, "Agent Okumura speaking to Agent Moley Four Eyes. Do you copy?"

Shura grinned again as his words echoed through the speaker of her small radio. Yukio rolled his eyes again and buried his face into the palm of his hand.

"What? He's funny," Shura said in defense.

"Shut up, Shura."

"Oi, I think yer makin' him mad. Ya better get goin'."

Rin was already walking away in a quick trot before Yukio could reprimand either of them. "Mission abort, mission abort...!"


	12. chick-flick (ahem, romantic drama)

Shima grinned. The movie they were watching was drawing to a close, end credits now rolling across the screen, and he could hear sniffling somewhere close to him. He knew Bon and Koneko-san weren't the type to get worked up over simple films—especially ones like these.

Izumo-chan was on the other side of the room, so it couldn't be her. That left only one girl…

"Moriyama-saaaannn~" he cooed, an arm coming down to rest on her shoulders. "Don't worry, it's just a movie. No need to be sad. I'm here for you~"

Moriyama-san jumped in surprise. "Eh? Wh-what do you mean? I'm f-fine!"

Shima blinked in the darkness. Her usual nervous stutter was there, but there were no hints of tears. Then who was…?

"It was so saaaad," Okumura-kun suddenly wailed, throwing his arms up. "I can't believe sh-she left him at the end! After all they went through, she—" His voice dissolved into soft whimpers.

Izumo-chan snorted. "This was such a waste of time. It was obvious she wasn't happy, idiot. The ending was predictable."

"For once, I agree with you," Bon said suddenly, "this was a waste of time. I thought that, since we were on holiday, we'd spend our time doing something other than watching sappy chick-flicks."

Koneko-san raised his hands as though he was trying to diffuse an argument before it started. Izumo-chan and Bon were rolling their eyes. Moriyama-san was squirming under Shima's hold, trying to comfort a still-sniffling Okumura-kun, who made a point to tell them it wasn't just a _chick-flick_ , it was a suspenseful, romantic drama and—

Shima sighed, a little disappointed, and had no choice but to release the girl. So much for making his move.


	13. misunderstood

Rin was kind of good at hiding. He liked to hide behind a cheeky smile, behind determination and stubbornness, behind the desperate hope that as long as he stood to protect people, to keep people from getting hurt, then he was doing something right.

Except people got hurt. All the time. Because of him. Which meant he was doing things absolutely, terribly, irreversibly wrong.

This was proven on the trip to Kyoto. This was proven when he'd fought Amaimon. It was proven time and time again, because it seemed like Rin was born to mess up, to fail, to find wonderful things like friends, like family, and slowly learn to how to love them only to have them stripped from him so painfully soon.

And that, well, that left him back where he started.

Alone.

Alone with this history of mistakes, of fuck ups, of friendships gained and lost, of words which echoed loudly in his mind:

Demon child, demon spawn, he would never fit in, he would never be cared for, he couldn't feel love because how could he possibly feel that? He was a demon, for fuck's sake and demons existed to take, to destroy, and he had flames which could burn absolutely _everything_ —

Rin expelled a colorful string of curse words when the cutting board suddenly tipped. He was sinking deep into a dark place where his thoughts wandered without his control, so when the knife and board clattered on the floor, and he couldn't even save the cabbage, Rin couldn't help it.

He rapidly descended into the familiar territory of rage, where everything went red and his body acted on its own. He spun around, hands pushing dishes, pupils dilated. The world faded and when it came back, every object within his reach was on the ground and he couldn't find a reason to care.

He slammed his knuckles down on the counter, so hard that the skin on his fingers split and he heard multiple sickening cracks. He was panting, each breath coming out quick and shaky. He was so preoccupied by the sound that he barely heard the slap of frantic footsteps on the staircase.

"Nii-san, what hap—Nii-san. Nii-san, stop. _Stop._ "

Rin glanced up but didn't really see Yukio walking toward him. He just saw his brother's fingers resting on his gun as if preparing to draw it. Rin stumbled back, releasing a low, primal growl, oddly reminiscent of a feral cat.

It wasn't _fair._ It wasn't fair that he was the only one with such a heavy burden, that he was the only who always messed up, that his friends only saw his demonic identity, that even his own brother seemed ready to fight him in this moment of uncontrollable anger.

Except... Rin wasn't mad, not really. He was just lonely, and he was scared, and he was hurt. He felt like an animal being cornered, hissing and scooting farther in the corner of the kitchen as if it offered protection.

"Nii-san," Yukio repeated in a low, calm voice, now realizing where his hand had drifted and raising them in the air to prove he meant no harm. "Let's talk about this, ok? Tell me what happened."

Rin couldn't find his voice. All that came out was another instinctive growl, rumbling deep in his throat. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair—

"Rin?"

That was Kuro's voice, uncertain and concerned. Rin's wild gaze wandered rapidly to where his familiar stood in the doorway, yellow-green eyes wide.

Then Kuro was pressed against his ankle, both tails coiling around his calf like pieces of string. Because he could hear Rin's thoughts, understood this awful episode of rage.

And human hands touched his shoulders. Without thinking Rin shoved them off and moved farther away. Yukio followed him, trying again.

"Nii-san, it's ok."

It wasn't. It really, really wasn't ok. His friends hated him and the Vatican was ready to execute him and the only person who could _possibly_ bring Rin down from this all-consuming, intoxicating anger had been dead for months.

Because what stood in front of Yukio now was a demon on a rampage, a monster that should be terminated before it hurt somebody. And Yukio's first instinct was to put his hand on his gun to do just that.

But what Shiro always saw was a confused, lost, lonely boy who just needed somebody to understand how badly he was hurting. And Shiro's first instinct was to show him that he _did_ understand.

"It's ok, Rin," Kuro echoed. "We're here."

Rin didn't even realize he was crying. Not until Kuro said those words, until Yukio coaxed him to the floor and Kuro climbed into his lap. Rin felt several pops in his hands. His demon blood was healing broken knuckles, forming new layers of clean flesh.

Yukio couldn't replace Shiro, couldn't calm him down the way Shiro could. They both knew that. But... he was trying. Rin could see that finally, when the red tint in his vision began to fade and actually _felt_ his twin's hands on his shoulders.

"Sorry," he croaked out breathlessly.

Yukio said nothing. Until: "...me, too, Nii-san."


	14. lightning

Ribbons of lightning danced across the sky, painting it with white iridescent gleams. Rin watched in awe, wide blue eyes tracing each streak and flash like a cat chasing a red laser beam. He'd heard storms before, but he'd never been inside a car while the rain poured down. Not to mention, this was his first storm since he'd drawn the sword and awakened his powers completely.

Everything seemed much brighter, much more intense, much...

"Hey, Yukio, did you see that?"

"Yes. I saw," came the deadpan reply. "You should get your hands off the glass. This isn't our vehicle."

Rin complied but kept his gaze on the raging storm outside. Lightning flashed again, illuminating seemingly the whole world. "Whoa..."

A clap of thunder echoed over them, and Rin instinctively covered his ears as if that would make it hurt any less. Demonic hearing amplified all sounds, and he was unprepared.

Much _louder._

This time, Yukio regarded him with a hint of concern, catching the heavy wince crawling across Rin's face. "Are you ok, Nii-san?"

Recovering quickly (like always), Rin hummed and went back to watching the show of lightning and rain, keeping his ears covered. "Oh, oh—look at that one! Yukio, did you see—"

"Yes. I did."

"Hey, and that one—"

"Yes. I see it, too."

"And th—"

"Uh-huh. I see the lightning, Nii-san."

"It's pretty," Rin said, at last, leaning heavily on the window as he stared. "Isn't it, Yukio?"

Yukio's face softened slightly. He, too, looked out the window, drinking in the storm and its display of crackling lightning and sheets of rain. Rin's voice and expression were similar to those of a small child.

"Yes. Very," he said softly.


	15. selfless

Konekomaru wasn't paying attention. It was as simple as that.

The stress of multiple long nights of studying was finally taking its toll on him. He was exhausted and every little thing seemed to pass by him. Professors had called on him in class, and he'd struggle to answer their questions. When the bell signaled that they were free to eat lunch, it'd taken a few minutes to realize that meant he should get out of his chair. He'd been so tired that he'd almost forgotten about cram school.

He'd pretty much stumbled into class, barely on time. Shrugged off Bon and Shima's concerns. A few minutes later Okumura-sensei and Kirigakure-sensei were telling the students that they were working outside today, a long distance away from the classroom.

Konekomaru had been outside for a grand total of five minutes when his fatigue got the best of him and he'd tried to cross the street without even bothering to look and see if it was safe.

He didn't see the car coming. He just heard somebody call out to him before the world went sideways.

Hands were closing around him, lifting him out of harm's way, and when he hit the pavement he heard a very distinct "oof!" and the squeak of tires. Various versions of Okumura Rin's name echoed around them as he rolled like a barrel on the asphalt, head smacking painfully on the ground when he finally stopped.

"O...Okumura-kun..." he whispered, wide-eyed, staring in shock. No other words would form.

Both of their professors were already kneeling in the street, examining him for injuries. The driver of the vehicle was coming to join them, looking concerned and remorseful, even asking if he should call for medical assistance.

"Nii-san," Okumura-sensei was saying, in a voice that was so frantic Konekomaru had a hard time believing it was his teacher talking. "Nii-san, can you hear me?"

For a moment, there was no response. And then Okumura-kun suddenly rolled over, one hand coming up to cradle his head. "Fucking _ouch_..." And then, as time caught up with him, he sat up with renewed energy. "Oh. Hey, is Konekomaru ok?"

Konekomaru made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. Okumura-kun had just been hit _by a car_ and he was asking if _Konekomaru_ was ok. The thought made his eyes water.

Distantly, he heard Kirigakure-sensei telling the driver everything was fine. Distantly, he heard the driver sputter in disbelief as Okumura-kun stood on wobbly legs. Distantly, he felt Bon's hand on his shoulder. Distantly, he heard Okumura-sensei scolding his brother about he should stop using himself as a shield and one of these days he wasn't going to just stand back up.

But all he could think about was Okumura-kun's radiant smile as he said, "Good! I'm glad you're ok. You look tired, you know. You should sleep so you don't space out and do that again."

It took almost every ounce of Konekomaru's willpower to keep his tears at bay.


	16. kitten

"What do we do about it?"

"The poor thing is probably terrified of us. Should we leave it be?"

"It'll either scratch us or run if we try to get near it."

"We have to get it out somehow. It can't stay in here."

Yukio frowned as he said the words, wondering how in Assiah a kitten had managed to sneak its way into the classroom. Now all the doors and windows were closed, so it had no escape. Fortunately, it wasn't a potential threat, like he'd originally assumed when he heard the little thing making noise in the back of the room.

Unfortunately, he had a room full of students, and their attention was now on the tiny baby cat sitting with its back arched in the corner, hissing and growling in primal fear. Yukio sighed and rubbed his temples, annoyed. He was in the middle of a lecture. Now Miwa was looking at the cat longingly, Shiemi was cooing, Suguro and Shima were staring at it curiously, Takara was blatantly ignoring all of them, Kamiki was _trying_ to ignore all of them (and was failing miserably), and Rin...

Rin's expression was cryptic. Rin was the type of person who wore his heart on his sleeve—on very rare occasions would Yukio have trouble reading him.

"For now, we'll just ignore it," Yukio eventually decided, clearing his throat. "Now, as I was—"

"I wonder if it's hungry," Rin murmured absently, completely ignoring Yukio. It seemed the rest of the students had overlooked his words as well, which made Yukio's eye twitch.

"Okumura-kun. You should—" All professionalism dropped when Rin stood up. "Nii-san, _sit down._ "

With a silent wave of dismissal, he walked in the direction of the kitten who was now peering suspiciously at them from behind a spare chair. "Here, kitty kitty kitty..."

He knelt down and extended a hand, tail slipping out of his shirt. It twitched and wiggled, and the cat eyed it with sudden interest. But it didn't move from its hiding place.

"It's ok." The tip of his tail quivered as he spoke. "I won't hurt you. C'mere, kitty. Don't be scared."

That was all it took. Yukio blinked in surprise when the kitten took a tentative step toward Rin, big eyes trained on Rin's tail. And then it was mewling softly and rubbing its tiny head against Rin's leg in a way that strongly reminded Yukio of the day Rin rescued Kuro.

Shiemi cooed again. "It likes you, Rin."

Rin's eyes twinkled as he began stroking its fur, smiling wide. It even let him scoop it up in his hand. When he walked back to his seat and Shiemi reached out to touch it, it cowered away. It was obvious who the kitten favored.

Yukio frowned. He knew what was coming next.

"Can we keep him?"


	17. bad idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a direct sequel to the last one! thank you so much for reading! your comments make my day!! 💙

In retrospect, letting his brother keep the cat was a terrible idea.

They hadn't been prepared much at all. No litter, no proper box, no toys. The food and water dishes were just small bowls. Pets—especially young cats—needed constant attention. With Yukio being an on-call exorcist and Rin being a full-time student, neither of them could tend to its needs immediately.

Kuro was a big help at first, surprisingly. When he became lonesome, the two played together. But there were many differences between a regular cat and a cat sidhe. Kuro played rough. Kuro was used to Rin's style of training. Kuro was not used to the delicate tiny creature with baby teeth and teeny claws. Which was probably the reason why the little guy was bleeding when they arrived home.

"Kuro says he didn't mean it," Rin said, although Yukio wasn't sure if he was talking to him or the kitten cradled in his hands. "They were playing and he got carried away."

Kuro mewled guiltily, as if in agreement.

"This isn't a good idea and you know it, Nii-san. We can't keep feeding him scraps! He needs actual cat food, and that costs money you don't have."

"He's so small and defenseless, Yukio! Where would he go?"

Yukio sighed irritably in response. This was very much like the time Rin had brought home that stray dog into their dorm. "What if it happens again? We don't have time for vet visits."

"We don't need a vet," Rin said, sounding confident. "You're the one who wants to be a doctor."

"For _exorcists_ , Nii-san. Not for animals!"

"I'll figure something out," Rin vowed, with a gleam in his eye that made Yukio's eye twitch. "Trust me on this, ok?"

Yukio opened his mouth to refuse. To try to fight it. But Rin was already walking away, tail swaying happily, kitten still in his hands. Kuro followed immediately.

The next morning, after breakfast, Rin handed Yukio the bento he'd prepared the night before with a smile that made him slightly suspicious. Yukio left first, like usual.

The day went on as it normally did. They were at lunch when Yukio spotted Rin across campus, opening a bento. He was fishing out his chopsticks, looking caught up in a conversation with Miwa and Shima. It wasn't uncommon for him and his brother to see each other around this time of day.

Yukio stopped walking, eyes bulging when he saw a little fluffy head pop out of the collar of Rin's shirt.

He was rushing over in seconds, fixing a disapproving glare on his brother, hardly paying attention to the other boys sitting with him. "Nii-san. Care to explain why you brought the cat to school?"

And there it was: the same smile that he'd flashed this morning, all innocence as he offered a beef strip to the animal to nibble on. "This way I can watch him, Yukio! And he doesn't mind. He likes me."

_This_ was his plan? Yukio's frown and glare deepened. What if Rin was caught? The kitten wasn't a familiar. It was dangerous to have around the cram school. He didn't even want to think about what Sir Pheles would say. And... and what if the cat had to use the bathroom or something? What if he got too hot hiding in Rin's shirt?

"You can't do this again," Yukio decided firmly. "He needs a new home, Nii-san. Quickly."

"But Yukio—"

"I'm _serious._ He can't stay."

He walked away before Rin could argue, and Yukio didn't see him again until that night. He'd had a meeting, so he arrived home late. Super was already prepared, and Yukio blinked in surprise when Rin wasn't already at the table. He made his way upstairs, opening the door to their dorm with the intention of telling Rin that he needed to eat.

"Nii-san—"

He stopped when he saw his brother, curled up on the bed like he so often was, with Kuro tucked into his abdomen and the kitten pressed against his collarbone; all sleeping peacefully. His expression softened a little as he drew in the scene. A loud purring sound reached his ears.

He couldn't tell which one was the source.


	18. joke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi sorry i was having such a busy week and i was sick so i didn't have a chance to upload but i'm here now :)

Okumura was staring at the chalkboard, dumbfounded. Suguro rolled his eyes. Why was the kid here if he wasn't going to take his studies seriously? It really got under his skin.

"I don't... get it," Okumura murmured, blinking.

"What don't you get?" Moriyama asked. "I don't know how much help I could be, but I can try."

Biting back a scoff, Suguro crossed his arms. It wasn't that hard to understand. Honestly, they'd been studying this part of holy scripture for almost a week, and Okumura still didn't get it? That kid was so slow.

"Hi, my name is Okumura Rin and my favorite color is _clear_ ," he said with a sneer, leaning back in his chair.

Okumura turned to look at him with those same wide, confused eyes. He blinked a few times, each time slower than the next, and sudden a smile graced his lips.

Suguro tensed when he cracked up laughing.

" _Clear?!_ I've never h-heard _that_ one before," he gasped out, holding his sides. "G-good one, Suguro. I c-can't... _breathe_...!"

Suguro shot up, shaking a fist at him. "You're not supposed to laugh! I was mocking you, idiot!"

"Were you?" Tears were welling up in his eyes from laughter.

He scowled at Okumura as if that would make him stop. It didn't. Suguro growled and turned his gaze away. Of course he'd find it funny. Okumura found just about anything funny. But damn it! How was he supposed to make fun of Okumura when he reacted like _that?_ He was supposed to puff up, to get mad, to retaliate, but instead the kid was laughing until he was pink in the face.

"Shut up," he muttered when Shima started snickering as well.


	19. immortality

Shiemi was worried about him.

All day, Rin hadn't smiled or laughed. That alone was enough to tie her stomach into knots—it seemed that Rin's default state was happy, so when he wasn't she was immediately concerned. What had him so down to elicit such melancholy in his eyes?

After cram school, she decided to approach him. His shoulders were hunched, hands in his pockets as he stalked toward the fountain. She gathered her courage, marching stiffly after him. Shiemi was his friend, darn it! She would do her best to put whatever was plaguing his mind to rest.

"H-hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he replied with a smile that was false.

"Are... are you ok?" she asked immediately, and then mentally winced. Should she attempt small talk first before jumping into this? Should she be more tactful? This was so difficult.

Rin's gaze drifted skyward. "Yeah. Just got something on my mind, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Then, hastily: "I—I mean, you don't _have_ to, I just know th-that it makes me f-feel better to talk about things when they're bothering me, is all!"

"Thanks, Shiemi."

There was his answer: He didn't accept or decline, but her offer to listen still stood strong. She sat quietly by his side, watching the clouds roll by, slow and lazy. It was silent like this for several minutes, until eventually, Rin expelled a shaky breath.

"I'm not fully human," he whispered.

Shiemi blinked in surprise, now staring at him patiently.

"...eventually, Yukio will die," he went on softly. "And Suguro, and Shima, and Konekomaru, and Izumo, and... and _you._ "

Shiemi's eyes softened. Yes, it was true that no human lived forever, not unless something supernatural intervened. But what could Rin possibly—?

Oh.

_Oh._

"Rin..." she murmured, sadness tinging her voice.

"One day, you're all going to be gone, and I'm going to be here." It seemed like he was trying to be indifferent, but the crack in his voice betrayed him. "I don't want that. But I don't have a choice."

Shiemi wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't say she understood because she didn't. She couldn't say that it would be ok because it wouldn't be. Rin would survive everyone else, and what would be there for him when they were all dead? She couldn't even imagine how painfully lonely and terrifying the realization must be.

She opted for reaching and gently squeezing his shoulder, silently offering comfort. There wasn't anything she could say that would make him feel better. Rin leaned into her touch, glassy-eyed and biting his lip.

_I'm so sorry,_ she thought, fighting back her own tears.

Even in her mind, the words felt so empty.


	20. game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't own anything produced by Nintendo!

"You should be studying."

"Who are you, my mom?"

This was the response Yukio had come to expect. It didn't make him any less irritated, however, when he caught the decently-sized stack of papers on Rin's desk. He'd been so caught up in that game that he'd neglected his homework, and while that wasn't a surprise, he knew that Rin would face the consequences later.

"Nii-san," he said in warning, narrowing his eyes. "I'm serious. You can play your game when you're done with those assignments."

The mashing of buttons. A frustrated growl. "You poisoned my Eevee! How dare you!"

Yukio's eye twitched. "Nii-san."

"Shit. I'm out of antidotes."

_"Nii-san."_

Rin finally sighed, closing the dual-screen console and turning to face him. "Alright, alright! I'm doing my homework."

Yukio nodded, lips pursed into a thin line. He leaned back into his own chair, before turning to face the papers he'd in the middle of grading when his brother had walked in with some handheld Nintendo system, grumbling about losing some trainer battle. Yukio had no idea where he'd gotten the device—he was a broke student, after all; the only video game he had was some outdated handheld that was almost as old as the two of them, and he'd misplaced that over a month ago (and had the nerve to blame _him_ )—but he seemed so absorbed in playing it that everything else had faded away.

Until Yukio spoke up, anyway.

With an internal sigh, Yukio skimmed the paper in front of him. The sound of rustling papers and a pen clicking confirmed that Rin was true to his word in focusing on his schoolwork.

The peaceful almost-silence lasted approximately seven or eight minutes before Rin groaned in dismay. "I don't get it, Four Eyes! This isn't due till Monday. It's Thursday. Why should I get it all done now?"

"Wouldn't you rather get it all done soon, so you have your weekend free?"

Rin muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like an insult, before turning his attention back on his assignment. Out of the corner of his eye, Yukio saw the scowl on his brother's face.

_I'm going to regret this._

"Tell you what," Yukio said calmly, "if you can get a couple assignments done before supper, then you can worry about the rest tomorrow."

Rin's eyes went wide, and he looked at Yukio with an eager smile. "For real? And I can play my game?"

_I am_ so _going to regret this._ "Sure."

Rin turned his attention back to his desk, brows furrowing in concentration. And again they fell into a not-quite silence, with the only sounds being the scribble of their writing utensils and the whisper of pages turning (and occasionally, Rin's incoherent grumpy mumbles).

Time passed, and eventually Rin claimed he was finished and went downstairs to help Ukobach prepare supper. Yukio took a quick peak at his work, seeing an even split of correct and incorrect answers, but it was better than it used to be, which told Yukio that Rin was trying. Although his progress was slow, he was getting better.

"Nii-san," Yukio said sometime later when they were at the table, eyeing the system resting by Rin's plate in disapproval. He was going back and forth between eating his rice and mashing buttons. "Shouldn't you wait till you're doing eating to play?"

"I'm in the middle of the of a battle," Rin said distractedly. "I can't save."

Yukio rolled his eyes. He understood how addicting video games could be, and he had to at least be thankful Rin agreed to complete some of his assignments before returning to it. But as time progressed, Rin remained glued to the handheld, briefly pausing to help Ukobach clean up, before heading back upstairs, game in hand.

"It's almost eleven," Yukio said with an exhausted sigh, long after the sun had set. "I think you should put that thing away now."

Now huddled in the corner of the bed so the system could charge while he played, Rin repeated the same excuse from earlier, that he wasn't at a good save point. Yukio's reaction was the same, rolling over so he didn't have to see the dim light from the dual screen.

The next day, Rin came into Yukio's class acting like a zombie. He looked even worse than he did this morning, Yukio noted immediately, but he had to remind himself that Rin had done this to himself. (It didn't stop him from worrying, but he could pretend.)

"Oi, Okumura-kun," came Shima's voice. He was grinning. "Did you—oh, shit, you look _terrible._ "

"Thanks," was Rin's sarcastic reply.

"You stayed up all night playing my DS, didn't you?"

That made Yukio twitch. Ah, so _Shima_ was the culprit. He frowned deeply, eyes narrowing. "You're the one who gave him that?"

"Uh-oh," Suguro said in a not-so-quiet whisper. "You've dug your own grave, Shima."

Shima continued to grin until he actually turned to meet Yukio's gaze, which was cold and unforgiving. The color from his face drained, his eyes popping wide, and he had the audacity to laugh, although the sound was tinged with hysteria.

"Oh, heh heh, y-yeah, it's mine," Shima said meekly.

"It was so fun, though," Rin said, and even though he sounded exhausted, he was smiling, wide and happy. "I appreciate you letting me play. I always thought Pokémon games looked cool, but I never knew it'd be this awesome! Do you think I could keep it over the weekend?"

Yukio's cold stare melted very slowly. No matter how irritated he became at his student for distracting Rin, it was nice to see his brother smile so genuinely. Maybe he could let this one slide.


	21. miscalculated

It was supposed to be _Rin_ who messed things up.

Rin was the fuck-up, the one who leaped before he looked, the one who spoke without a filter. Yukio, on the other hand, never miscalculated. Everything action, every word, every shot was precise, leaving no room for inaccuracies. No room for mistakes. It was perfection or it was nothing at all.

Sometime during this mission, their roles had switched.

Rin watched with bulging, terrified eyes as the bullet from his brother's pistol missed its intended target by a hair. Watched with rapidly increasing horror as a slimy arm snaked around Yukio's torso. Watched as both guns were knocked out of his hands, as Yukio was thrown into the air like a rag-doll, too stunned to make a sound. Watched as he came plummeting back down at a nauseatingly fast speed.

"No," he whispered, feet already moving, gaining momentum with each passing second. "No, no, no, no—"

"Rin! Don't!"

Faster.

If Rin fell at that speed, he'd survive. His fight with Amaimon had proved that. But Yukio was human! A human with bones like glass and paper skin, easily torn, easily crushed.

"You're going to get hit, too!"

Faster.

Sword already drawn, Rin threw himself into the air, flames and all, fueled by the gut-wrenching, sickening realization that if his brother hit the ground Rin would lose the only person he had left.

"Okumura!"

Faster.

He hurled blue flames outward, barely pausing as his target became engulfed, screeching and hissing.

"YUKI-CHAN!"

Faster.

Rin caught him just in time, twisting his body so he could land properly, and as his feet collided with the earth his heart was racing, thumping wildly within the confines of his ribcage like it was trying to break free.

"Try to kill my brother again," he growled, looking at the smoldering remains of the demon with feral eyes. "I fucking _dare you._ "

He had Yukio in an iron grip, practically seething with rage. An image of a mangled, bloody body flashed through his mind and it wouldn't leave. He'd already lost his old man. He couldn't lose his brother.

The demon was dead and fading, but the tension didn't leave Rin's body until it was gone completely.

"Nii-san," Yukio murmured when Rin still didn't release him, his tone calm, but the tinge of hysteria in his eyes betraying him. Yukio had been scared, too, no matter how much he tried to hide it. "It's... it's ok. I'm fine."

Shiemi and Shura came running over to them, followed by the rest of the class. Shiemi asked fretfully, "Yuki-chan? Rin? Are you both alright?"

"We're fine," Yukio repeated softly. Woodenly. "I... I miscalculated."

_That's my job,_ Rin thought as he mechanically sheathed his sword, trying not to choke. The flames disappeared but the anger and fear lingered like a terrible aftertaste. Out loud: "You should be more careful."

The irony in that statement was almost comical, he realized. Because Rin was the one who so often danced with death, the one who got scolded. Not Yukio. Never Yukio.

A whisper of sad understanding flickered through his brother's eyes. He didn't roll his eyes. Didn't scoff. Didn't call Rin out for his hypocrisy. Just said, "I will."

Rin nodded. Pretended he wasn't shaking.


	22. sunset

Shura tapped her foot impatiently. Where was that boy? A glance down at her phone told her he was fifteen minutes late. Which was typical of Rin, but that didn't make her any less irritated.

With an exasperated sigh, she punched in his number. Waited. Waited.

"Guess I'll go get 'im," she muttered when he didn't pick up. That was also typical of Rin.

They'd scheduled training after school hours so Rin could get some extra practice. She'd been surprised that he agreed to it, but then, she supposed it was probably an excuse to get out of doing homework assigned by that four-eyed brother of his.

(Not that she blamed him. It was obvious that Rin wasn't the type of kid who would do well sitting at a desk for hours at a time.)

Speaking of that four-eyed chicken...

Shura found Okumura Yukio's number. And if he didn't pick up, _two_ boys were going to get an earful—

"Okumura speaking," Yukio answered, on the second ring.

She rolled her eyes. Always so formal. "Oi, where's that brother of yers?"

A pause. "He's not in the dorm. I assumed he left early."

"Think, will ya?" she snapped. "Rin? Leave early? When does that happen?"

Her question was followed by another pause. "You're right. I'll go look for him."

"Great." She nodded even though he couldn't see it. "I'll meet ya there."

"Shura—"

Shura hit the 'end call' button before he could finish his sentence. Since he didn't immediately call back, it probably wasn't important anyway. Then, reluctantly, she found a door and used her magic key to reach the old boys dormitory.

He was on the roof, she and Yukio found out minutes later. With another roll of her eyes, she marched up there, telling Yukio that she could handle it, and sending him back to do whatever it was that he spent his Thursday night doing. Grading or something, most likely.

There Rin was. Laying on the roof, arms folded behind his head, facing the sky. As she approached him, she saw his eyes were closed. Of course.

"Oi," she said sharply, nudging Rin roughly with her foot. The way he jolted awake was almost comical. "Ya kept me waiting fer a nap?"

Rin blinked and sat up slowly, rubbing an eye groggily. Then, after a few moments, he drank in the starry night sky and let out a groan of frustration. "Oh, shit! I missed it!"

"Damn right ya did," Shura hissed, narrowing her eyes. "We were s'posed to meet up to train twenty minutes ago!"

"No, I was—" He stopped, pausing to look back at her with eyes that gradually became wider and wider. Jumped to his feet. Repeated, "Shit! What time is it?"

"Half-past nine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she answered flatly, before reaching for his collar. "I can't believe ya stood me up fer a nap!"

"I didn't mean to," he cried in defense. "I was just... I was watching the sunset, ok? And I guess... that I maybe... fell asleep..."

She seethed quietly for several heartbeats, before his words registered in her brain.

And she choked.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he grumbled, yanking free of her grip as she doubled over, not even bothering to stifle her obnoxious laughter. "'Cause it's so funny."

"I d-didn't—" She hiccuped, now holding her sides. "I didn't peg ya as... as the 'watching-the-sunset' kinda guy, Rin...!"

His gaze drifted skyward, eyes once again sweeping over what the stars and moon had to offer. His face softened in a way that made Shura's chuckles die in her throat.

"It's just... it's nice, sometimes," he murmured truthfully, with a halfhearted shrug. "Seeing nature. Reminds me that there is beauty in the world."

She followed his gaze, studying the silver glow of the moon. Then she glanced back at her student—the boy who destroyed half an amusement park while fighting Amaimon. The boy who lost control of himself during their mission in the forest, revealing his demonic identity to all of the other students in the cram school and losing them as friends in the process. The boy who held so much power inside of him that the Vatican gave him a death sentence.

"Well, the sun's gone, so ya gotta put up with me now," she said eventually, grinning teasingly. "C'mon, kiddo. Time to kick get yer ass beat."

Rin sputtered in response, quick to argue. Shura laughed again, already making her way toward the door.

He wasn't making her soft. Not this boy. No way.

Not a chance.


	23. snowball (fictober day 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was my contribution to Fictober 2019 a few months ago. that's where I got the prompts :)

**Fictober Day 1:** "It will be fun, trust me."

* * *

"It will be fun, trust me!"

Rin said the words so easily, with such an innocently wide smile that it was hard _not_ to cave. Genuine excitement glistened in his gaze, and who could tell him no without being pinned as the bad guy?

But that innocence, Suguro quickly learned, was false; the fact that he'd just been hit square in the face with a snowball proved it. He should've known. He damn well should have known.

Classes had been canceled for the day—both in cram school and in regular—due to the weather and at first, Konekomaru and Suguro (but unsurprisingly, not Shima) were planning on spending the day catching up on their studies. It was the perfect opportunity, after all, considering there was too much snow outside to really do anything else.

At least, Suguro had thought so. Until he realized that Shima and Okumura were texting behind their backs and before they knew it, Rin was in their dorm, waving a magic key around. The three students were promptly dragged into a snowball war.

So here they were now, just outside the old boys' dorm, where Okumura and their professor resided. Suguro's brow twitched in annoyance. Especially when he got sight of Okumura's posture—a complete one-eighty from the puppy-eyes and naivety. Now he just looked cocky, from his grin all the way to the lazy swishing and swaying of his tail.

"Oh, you asked for it," Suguro growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Uh-oh," Shima said, bug-eyed as he looked back at Okumura. "You better run."

Okumura's laughter was loud and full when he swooped down low to collect more snow, molding it into a ball as Suguro chased after him. Both were too involved in their competition to notice the way Konekomaru and Shima bolted out of their path, watching as they hurled snowball after snowball at each other. First in horror, and then fascination, and then amusement.

"Too slow," Okumura teased. "Oh! Still too slow. Man, are you getting rusty?"

"Don't let your rage control you, Bon," Shima cried out from the sidelines, although the advice sounded more mocking than intended.

"Shut up," he snapped, and that moment of distraction left an opening for Okumura.

An opening of which he took full advantage. Cold, wet snow hit Suguro's shoulder.

Suguro seethed, his gaze snapping back to Okumura in frustration. His gloved fingers tightened around the snowball in his hand, and with an almost battle cry, he hurled it at Okumura's dopey, unsuspecting face.

Okumura's eyes widened in surprise. He threw his hands up to guard his face.

When the blue came, Suguro was unprepared.

They burst outward, melting the snowball and the snow around them in seconds. Somewhere, he heard Konekomaru shouting. Once they reached Suguro, he steeled himself for the pain—a pain that never came. Only waves upon waves of warmth, wrapping him up in a cocoon, disintegrating the coldness that lingered from the impact of Okumura's most recent snowball.

 _Huh,_ he thought, almost in awe. _Strange. Thought it woulda scorched me._

A strangled sound pulled his attention away from the blue flames to the boy now staring wide-eyed at him barely ten feet away. And then the warmth was gone, and Okumura's expression bled absolute horror.

"Oh my god, are you ok? Suguro? Did I burn you?" He was running up him, looking hysterical. "I didn't burn you, did I? Did I? Shit, I'm sorry. I'm so stupid. I'm so fucking stupid. I'm sorry."

Suguro blinked several times as Okumura continued to ramble, and it took a few moments for the shock to wear off and his words to register.

He frowned. Leaned over with exaggerated slowness, scooping up another decent amount of snow and compacting it into a ball.

Rolled his arm back.

Hit Okumura right in the nose.

That shut him up instantly, and the way he just stood there and gawked was absolutely priceless.

"You left yourself open," Suguro said, daring to smirk. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?"

Rin sputtered. It was the funniest damn thing.


	24. autumn (fictober day 2)

**Fictober Day 2:** "Just follow me, I know the area."

* * *

Shiemi bit her lip nervously. "I'm not so sure about this, Rin."

It was true. While she was technically a student at the cram school, she barely knew her way around campus, let alone the whole city. So when Rin had invited her out and told her that she wanted to show her something, she'd been very flattered, but also incredibly anxious. What if they got lost? Would her mother worry? Would Yuki-chan worry about Rin?

Rin, however, looked at ease, and the smile he shot her was impossibly soft. "It's alright. Just follow me. I know the area."

She still felt unsure, but this was Rin, after all. She knew that she could trust him. "Alright."

"For real?" Rin's entire face lit up. "So you'll come?"

"Sure," she replied warmly. "But um, where are we going, exactly?"

"You'll see. C'mon!"

Shiemi almost squeaked in surprise when Rin tugged on her wrist, suddenly but gently coaxing her to follow. They didn't move too fast, which was a relief, she found herself thinking because while Rin was quick on his feet, she was not. In fact, the faster she moved, the clumsier she became.

So she let him guide her, and slowly, they made their way down the steps that led up to his dorm. Rin then took a left, picking up the pace ever-so-slightly, and the crisp October air brushed against her cheeks like a mother's caress.

They were walking somewhat briskly for the better part of fifteen minutes, passing by people who called this city home, even students of the academy. The entire time, Rin was quiet, having already released her wrist so she could walk by his side, rather than behind him.

"We're almost there," he said eventually, the grin evident in his voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he went on and then pointed to the right to indicate that they needed to turn. Then he slowed to halt, his grin widening a fraction. "Alright! Shiemi, look!"

She obeyed, eyes popping at the sight that lay in front of her. It was a park filled with children's playground equipment, but what surrounded it all was what caught her attention:

The trees bordering the park's edge almost protectively, their leaves dancing languidly in the autumn breeze. It was obvious that the season of fall had finally arrived, she thought as she drank in the blend of orange, brown, yellow, and red leaves. Some had already fallen from their branches, blanketing the ground beneath their feet in a beautiful array of autumn colors.

"Wow," she breathed in awe. "It's so beautiful."

"Yeah," Rin said softly. "I thought so, too. And I know you love plants, so I _knew_ that you had to see this."

She shouldn't have been surprised. Rin often thought of others before himself, even to the point where it became dangerous. But still, as he said the words, she couldn't help but look back at him in wonder. Shiemi was deeply touched that she was the first one to come to his mind.

Rin was so incredibly sweet. So kind. So caring. How could anyone think any different?


	25. favorite (fictober day 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof i'm sorry i keep slacking on posting. they're already written, i just need to find time to post! thanks for reading!

**Fictober Day 3:** "Now? Now you listen to me?"

* * *

Rin was going to be the death of him. That much was for sure.

"This test is going to be worth fifteen percent of your grade, Nii-san," Yukio persisted, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me you plan on studying for it."

"Of course I do," Rin said distractedly as he set the freshly-rinsed veggies on the counter. "I'll get to it, ok? I'm working on something important right now."

"Supper can wait," Yukio argued, lips pursing into a thin line. "If you're really worried, Ukobach probably won't mind—"

"Nope," Rin interrupted with an airy smile, "this is something that calls for both of us."

Yukio rolled his eyes. It wasn't like this was anything new. Yukio told his brother to do something, Rin dismissed him, and then one way or another, they both ended up paying the price of Rin's actions.

So he sighed. He could try again in a little bit, he supposed. Rin did love to cook, and maybe once he was done, and that distraction was out of the way, he'd get through to him. Maybe. Hopefully.

A few minutes later had him at his desk, tapping his pen rhythmically on his desk as he tried to focus on the menial task of grading his students' assignments. It didn't take long to fall into his usual routine, and he was on the last quiz—Miwa's—when their dorm door opened.

"It's ready," Rin said, grinning toothily. "Come down and see it!"

Yukio quirked a brow. "That look on your face scares me a little."

Immediately, the excitement died. Rin actually seemed offended. "Ha, ha. I'm serious. I think you'll like it!"

"Fine, fine. I'm going."

With a quiet sigh, Yukio pushed himself to his feet, watching his brother out of the corner of his eye, and raising his brows again when Rin didn't budge in his place by the doorway even after Yukio exited the room.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Nah," Rin said flippantly, tail curling and uncurling as he offered a wave of dismissal. "I've got a test to study for. I'll eat when I get some progress."

_Now?_ Yukio wondered silently, frowning. _Now you listen to me?_

Despite the annoyance that tinged his thoughts, Yukio went back down the stairs, where the promise of a hot meal awaited him. His stomach decided to growl at that moment, and suddenly he felt very guilty for giving Rin such a hard time when the meal he prepared smelled and looked so amazing.

He blinked slowly, instantly zeroing in on the small demon familiar jumping around on the counter. "What?"

A series of indecipherable squeaks. Ukobach was pointing ecstatically at a piece of paper taped to the table next to the display of food. (Really, Rin putting off eating to study for a test was so out of character, but Yukio supposed he shouldn't be complaining. Rin's attention span was incredibly short, anyway.)

"Oh," he murmured suddenly.

It was a note that read: _Hey, I know your missions are draining you, and it must not help that you always feel like you're babysitting me. So I made this dinner for you. Eat up. I know it's your favorite. You need to take care of yourself, bro._

_Rin._

The guilt for reprimanding his brother doubled in size.


	26. rain (fictober day 4)

**Fictober Day 4:** "I know you didn't ask for this."

* * *

Rin's feet pounded against the cement as the rain poured down on him in unforgiving, cold sheets. Each step splashed water all around him, and the logical part of his brain told him that he had a magic key in his pocket and it could have brought him back to his dorm in a matter of seconds.

But he needed to run. Needed to feel the burn in his lungs, needed to feel his legs move. And despite the heavy chill of the rain, Rin felt hot with shame. Like his flames had the capability of burning him from the inside.

It was stupid. _Rin_ was stupid. He should have expected it to happen. He didn't, because he was naive and thought he could believe his friends when they said they cared about him.

But people who cared about you didn't just sit there while someone berated you. People who cared about you wouldn't just sit there while someone dug words deeper and deeper into your skin, sharper than any weapon, until blood was drawn.

_"Then again, I didn't ask for the son of Satan to be in this class. I guess we all get what we don't ask for."_

He could have ignored it, he knew. It would have been so easy. He was used to being hated, after all. It shouldn't have been any different. Or he could have fought back with an awful insult of his own.

But then Yukio would have gotten involved. And that stupid clown Mephisto. The last thing he needed was to cause any more trouble than he already did. It was easier to run, to get the attention off himself than to sit and quake in his desk while his classmates didn't say a damn word in his defense.

So he did. Grabbed his bag and booked out of the classroom, out of the school. Out into the courtyard. Across the campus. He was soaked within a minute but he kept running, crossing streets, leaping over fences, until he was standing, panting, on the first floor of the old boys' dormitory.

Rin didn't bother pausing to catch his breath. Just made his way the room. Sleep. He just wanted to sleep.

He was bringing a swamp into the dorm, but he didn't care. Each step was marked by a watery footprint, and by the time he reached the top of the stairs, he could hear Kuro's voice calling out to him.

"Rin?"

_Yeah, buddy,_ he thought. _It's me._

He opened the door then, and Kuro met his gaze instantly. He didn't ask why Rin was home from school so early. Didn't ask why he was out in the rain. Didn't ask what was wrong. Didn't have to.

He simply said, "You should change out of those wet clothes."

Clawed hands numbly pulled at his tie as he grunted in response. Shrugged off his blazer. He didn't remember actually shedding all of his clothes—nor did he remember finding new, fresh clothes—but when he crawled into bed his clothes were dry, and Kuro's purr was a loud, rumbling storm next to his ear.

"I'm sorry, Rin," he said, the words echoing within the confines of his mind. "I know you didn't ask for this."

He didn't. He didn't ask to be Satan's son, didn't ask for this volcanic demon side, didn't ask to be put on death row. The only reason he was at this stupid academy was so no one else would die or get hurt because of him—but no one was giving him a damn chance. They all took and took and gave empty promises and he was so fucking tired. He just wanted a break, but he knew it was long in coming.

The rain poured and poured outside the dorm. Kuro continued to purr until it lulled Rin to sleep.


	27. accident (fictober day 5)

**Fictober Day 5:** "I might just kiss you."

* * *

It was an accident.

Izumo knew Rin hadn't _meant_ to break the stupid vial. Nor had he been listening to Okumura-sensei when he was talking about what was _inside_ the vial. But it happened all the same, and now she, her professor, and the rest of her classmates were fighting off dozens of annoying, low-level demons that spawned from every corner, every crevice, every shadow of the classroom. Definitely _not_ how she planned her afternoon to go.

It became obnoxiously loud right away, between the firing gunshots, the cackling of the demons, and the rushed chanted prayers. And when they were all defeated, the stench lingered, making Izumo's nose twitch in disgust.

In the end, they were set outside so the room could air out, while Okumura-sensei called for the room to be inspected. A nurse had been sent to look over each student, only to find each of them relatively unharmed.

Well. At least it was a nice day out. It did little to soothe Izumo's irritation, though.

"This sucks," Shima said with an exaggerated groan, reclining his back against the grass beneath them. "They should just send us home or something, instead of making us wait like we're in time out. And man, I'm starving."

"We told you to eat before class started," Miwa said, giving him a pointed look.

"Not our fault you didn't listen to us," Suguro added gruffly.

"I don't have anything to eat," Shima went on dramatically.

Izumo rolled her eyes. His whining was destined to get worse. She picked up her bag off the ground, fishing through it until she found what she was looking for: a small container of chocolate-chip cookies.

"Here," she said flatly. "Now shut up."

Shima looked up just in time to get hit square in the nose. Still, once he realized she had offered him, he didn't seem to care. "Oh, thank you, Izumo-chan! I might just kiss you."

"Please don't."

Miwa, however, looked at her with a kind smile. "That's very nice of you, Kamiki-san."

"I only did it so he'd stop complaining," she snapped, but the burn in her cheeks betrayed her. "Stop staring at me. It's rude."

"Wow, Eyebrows," Rin said suddenly. "Those look amazing. Did you bake them yourself? Can I try one?"

Oh, boy. This was getting out of hand. She scowled, making a point to look in the other direction. "I don't care. And no, I didn't. Paku made them."

Rin nodded enthusiastically, already taking one for himself and splitting it in half to share with Moriyama. When he bit into it, his eyes widened.

"Wow," he repeated and proceeded to take another bite. "This's good!"

Her scowl deepened. "Your compliments aren't going to erase the fact that you got us into this mess. We're stuck playing the waiting game because of you."

"She's not wrong," Suguro said with his arms crossed.

It was as if Rin didn't hear a word either of them said. His eyes were still glowing with contentment, and he said, "You have to tell Paku her cookies are amazing. I wonder how they taste fresh."

"They are very good, Kamiki-san," Moriyama murmured shyly.

She rolled her eyes but inwardly knew that Paku would love the praise. Especially coming from Rin, someone who was arguably the best cook she knew. (Although she'd be burned alive before she admitted that out loud.)

"Hey, you can't take anymore," Shima said suddenly, before cradling the container protectively in his lap. "You had yours! Back off!"

"But they're _good,_ " Rin persisted, pouting. "And—"

Another eye roll. Izumo quickly tuned out the rest of their conversation. Rin became impressed so easily, it was almost annoying.

Almost.


	28. fight (fictober day 6)

**Fictober Day 6:** "Yes, I'm aware. Your point?"

* * *

In retrospect, Rin should have ignored it. It wasn't his business, and reacting to what he heard was bound to get him in trouble. Plus, he and Shiemi were going to be late getting back to class if he stepped in. But did Rin care?

Not in the slightest.

Because this douchebag in front him (probably some stuck-up rich kid, only in this academy because his parents were loaded) had so easily made another student deeply upset—upset enough to warrant tears—and he was acting like it was no big deal. People like him really got on Rin's nerves. If he didn't do something, it would eat him up all night.

"Hey," he snapped, leaping down from the fountain and pinning the obnoxious teen in front of him with an icy stare. His fists were clenched into fists at his sides. "You made her cry."

"Yes, I'm aware," the boy deadpanned, eyeing him with disinterest. "Your point?"

"My _point_ ," Rin persisted, the words seething aggression, "is that you should feel bad about that! You have _one_ obligation as a human being, and that's to respect those around you unless they prove themselves not worthy of your respect."

"Pffft. And who do you think you are?" he said haughtily. "My boss?"

_Stay calm. Stay calm. Don't lose your—_

"Besides," Douchebag went on, "I was just telling her the truth. She was being really annoying. Not my fault she took it the wrong way."

"Rin..." Shiemi's voice hedged slowly. She was rubbing the student's back, eyes soulful and uneasy, like she had no idea what to do in this situation. "Let's, um, l-let's just go, ok? It looks like it's going to rain... and we're going to be late."

He should have listened. Should have just turned around and guided the sniffling girl behind him away, and walked with Shiemi back to the cram school.

But then Douchebag snorted and said, "Maybe you should listen to the blonde bitch."

"Excuse me?" Rin hissed. "You did _not_ just call Shiemi a bitch."

"I'm pretty sure you heard me."

Rin's brain didn't have time to catch up with his body. He was moving before he could even register that he was _actually_ moving.

His fist flew out.

Knocked the kid right off his feet.

He was seething, sinking further and further into a pool of rage, and instinct was rush forward and throw another punch. And another, and another, until the boy in front of him was bloody and unconscious. To make this stupid kid pay for his rude comments, for making this student cry, for making Shiemi nervous.

Except then fingers were pulling on his sleeve. "Rin. _Rin._ It's ok."

"No one calls my friends names and gets away with it," he muttered, still tense. " _No one._ "

Shiemi was quiet, but her fingers remained curled around the fabric of his sleeve. And then it came to his attention that a crowd was gathering around them, all bug eyes and curiosity and wonder. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw pale grey fur. Mephisto in dog form, no doubt.

Oh, he was going to hear about this later.

"Rin," Shiemi repeated in a whisper, and he finally looked up at her, he saw that her eyes were bright with tears. "Thank you for sticking up for me! You're a good friend."

The rage suddenly vanished like water going down a shower drain. His eyes bulged, as wide as saucers.

"Yes," said the other student in a tiny, quiet voice. She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. A soft smile lingered on her lips. "Thank you. You, um. You d-didn't have to do that."

He heard more footsteps. A teacher probably coming to investigate. He turned at the sound of a groan, seeing the kid he'd decked in the jaw struggling to push himself off the ground.

"Yes, I did," Rin murmured. "Nobody deserves to be treated like that."

Yukio was going to be so disappointed. Mephisto was going to lecture him. Hell, even Shura was bound to say something. He was going to be in a lot of trouble. Not only for getting into a fight but also for getting into a fight _on campus._ Boy, was he screwed.

But he'd be damned if that snobbish student got away with treating another student like trash. Like hell he was just going to stand there and watch it happen.

After all, he knew well enough what it felt like to be made fun of with no one to stick up for him. It felt like shit. And seeing that student finally smile, seeing Shiemi's face, etched with sheer gratitude...

Well, that just made it worth it.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof i did it again sorry i'm trash

**Fictober Day 7:** "No, and that's final."

* * *

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Nii-san, I said no."

"Pleeeease?"

"No, and that's final." Yukio's eyes were stern as he looked at his brother. "Honestly, Nii-san, you don't need the chocolate chips. You stay up too late as it is. Giving you sugar will only make it worse."

"They're not for _me_ ," Rin stressed. "Izumo shared her cookies the other day, ok? I... I wanted to try my hand at making some, to repay her. And..."

He trailed off then, mumbling something under his breath that Yukio didn't quite catch. Yukio's frown deepened, brows knitting together quizzically. Rin's cheeks were slightly pink. "What?"

"Nothing," he muttered. "I'll put it back. It's not a big deal. It's not like she'd eat them anyway. You know how she is."

That dejected tone stung a little. Yukio blinked, watching his twin march sulkily back over the aisle he got the chocolate chips from, and his brow twitched.

Oh, dear. Rin acted one or two ways when something went wrong in his day—bounce back immediately, or sulk about it for hours. There was no in-between. And just by looking at him now, he could tell today it would be the latter.

"Fine. I'll buy the chips," he said, rubbing his temple. Steered the cart into the aisle with the baking ingredients. "Just promise me you won't eat them all in one sitting?"

The shift was almost immediate. Rin's eyes sparkled and if his tail had been out, it would have been wagging. "For real? Thanks, Yukio!"

"Nii-san. Promise me."

"Yeah, yeah, I promise," Rin said, not sounding sincere in the slightest. "Do we have enough eggs? Should we get more? We should get more."

Yukio sighed under his breath as Rin continued to ramble on excitedly, telling him about how Izumo's cookies had been made by Paku and that he wanted to see if he could make them as well as she had. Yukio wondered idly if Rin had acted disappointed as a ploy to get him to cave. It was Rin, after all. Yukio wouldn't exactly put it past him.

"—and I really think she'll like it. Paku, I mean," he went on, grinning wide like a child who had just been promised a reward for his good behavior. "It's been a while since I've tried out a new recipe, you know? I think it'll be fun. It'll be nice to experiment."

_Why is it always my paycheck that suffers as a result of your experiments?_ he wondered silently.

Later, after Yukio had paid and they went home with their weekly groceries, Rin dashed off to the kitchen. Yukio made his way up to their dorm to study in peaceful silence.

The pleasant aroma of chocolate coaxed him back downstairs, hiding under the pretense of telling his brother that he should set some time aside to work on his schoolwork or even training his flames.

When he walked into the kitchen, he met Rin's eyes. Rin, who was in the middle of taking a big bite of a freshly-baked cookie.

"Why did I expect anything different?" he asked, more to himself than the boy in front of him. And then: "You said they weren't for you."

Rin's expression quickly became sheepish. He chewed the remainder of his cookie, swallowed, and offered his trademark cheeky grin. Chocolate was smeared on his bottom lip. "I was, um, making sure that... they weren't poisoned?"

"Uh-huh. Sure," Yukio droned. He turned to make his way out of the kitchen. "Don't blame me when you can't sleep."

Rin squawked in protest when he backtracked to grab a cookie of his own, and only when he left the room again did Yukio allow himself to smile.


	30. proud (fictober day 8)

**Fictober Day 8:** "Can you stay?"

* * *

Rin's eyes were comically wide, brimmed with shock. Shiemi's brows furrowed with worry. "What is it, Rin?"

"I got..." He swallowed, staring at the paper as though he wasn't sure if it was real. "I got a seventy-nine. On a _test._ " Then he whirled around to meet her gaze, tail coiling and uncoiling in glee. "Shiemi, I got a seventy-nine! A _seventy-nine!_ "

Shiemi blinked and blinked again. Then the words sunk in, and she shot him her warmest smile. "Good job."

He jumped out of his chair with enough force to knock it over. "Yukio! Yukio, I got a seventy-nine!"

"Yes," Yuki-chan replied, the faintest of smiles on his face. "I know. I graded it."

"This is the best grade I've gotten this semester," he went on, grinning widely. "I can't believe it. This is so great."

"Good job, Okumura-kun," Miwa-san said politely.

"Did you actually study this time?" Suguro-san asked, his expression unimpressed.

Rin paid no heed to said expression. He turned back to his paper, looking ready to bounce up and down with excitement. "Yes! Oh, man. This is so great. I'm gonna make sukiyaki tonight."

He was speeding out of the room before anyone else could respond. Everyone just watched the door slam and stared in silence until finally Kamiki-san finally huffed. "Good for him. I'm leaving."

"Wait!"

Shiemi wasn't sure why she said it, nor did she expect Kamiki-san to listen to her. But suddenly her classmate was turning to face her with an annoyed expression, arching a single brow. "What?"

Oh, dear. She hadn't planned this far ahead. She fidgeted under Kamiki-san's intense stare, flushing hotly. She wasn't used to having this much attention on her. "C-can you stay? All of you? I um..." Her resolve wavered, so she quickly bowed and stammered out, "I—I want to do something nice! F-for Rin, for doing his best! Maybe..."

She trailed off, not knowing where she was going with this.

Kamiki-san sighed. "He's making sukiyaki. He's celebrating by himself. Isn't that good enough?"

"Well..." She shifted uncomfortably where she stood. "Um, when you do something that's worth celebrating... wouldn't you want to celebrate with someone else? He did his best, and he was so proud of himself! I think we should show him that someone else is proud of him."

They were all silent, and she gathered her courage, facing Yuki-chan. "Right?"

Yuki-chan looked startled upon being addressed so abruptly but recovered quickly. "Right. I... I think it's an excellent idea." And then: "It might encourage him to study more, I think."

Nii-chan trilled from atop her head as if in agreement. She smiled slowly, gaining more confidence, and eventually, Shima-kun rubbed the back of his head and said, "I mean, it is kind of messed up that he's celebrating alone. Whattya think, Bon? Koneko-san?"

Miwa-san looked back at Shiemi with a smile. "Sure. What do you have planned?"

She didn't have anything planned, honestly. That realization made her face feel warm again. "Um..."

"You don't have anything planned," Suguro-san said as if reading her mind.

"Well." She twitched nervously. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was hoping... you guys could help think of something?"

Yuki-chan leaned against his desk. "I might have an idea."

* * *

A couple of hours later had the exwires walking into the old boys' dorm, which smelled wonderfully of Rin's cooking. Said boy called out, "Oi! Yukio! You're just in time, dinner's—oh."

He came to a halt upon seeing the rest of his classmates, eyes widening in surprise. His tail stilled behind him as a look of confusion graced his face. "What's up? Why's everyone with you?"

Shiemi moved before she was aware of the fact that she was moving. Her fingers tightened around the plastic bag in her hands—a bag which held various goodies that Yuki-chan told them Rin was sure to love—and she bowed for a second time that day. "We got you something!"

Silence. Rin sounded very confused when he asked, "What?"

She held out the bag forcefully. "For, um. For getting a good grade on your test! We wanted to do something to show you we're proud! Because that's what friends do!"

Another long pause. When seconds inched by and he said nothing, Shiemi finally looked up at him. "Rin?"

"Proud?" he echoed softly. Quietly. Like it was the last word he'd ever expected to hear. "Of me?"

"Sure," Shima-kun answered with a lazy grin. "You did your best, didn't you?"

"I..." He swallowed, blinking repeatedly. "I guess, yeah. But I mean..." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "It's not really a big deal—"

"Nii-san," Yuki-chan interrupted. "Your typical grades range anywhere between two and barely passing. I think that counts as a big deal."

"So..." His smile suddenly became timid. "You guys mean it? You're proud of me?"

"Of course," Shiemi said warmly.

Suguro-san crossed his arms. "Well, it is a big improvement from when we first met, so... yeah. Good job, ya monkey."

"I'm proud," Miwa-san said.

"Me too," Shima-kun added, flashing a two-fingered peace sign.

"Yes, Nii-san," Yuki-chan said. "I'm proud of you."

That left only Kamiki-san, who flushed under the attention of everyone as they turned to stare at her, awaiting her response. "Well, Moriyama didn't give us much of a choice in coming here, you know."

"I bet that's Izumo-chan's way of saying she's proud," Shima-kun teased and laughed when Kamiki-san sputtered.

Rin's eyes lit up in a way Shiemi wasn't sure she'd seen before. He looked so genuinely happy that it made her heart soar.

She made a mental note to tell him that she was proud more. Anything to make her friend look that happy again.


	31. drink (fictober day 9)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember how far out Mephisto's barrier goes, but we're going to say the boys are chillin somewhere out of its range? Probably. I can't bring myself to care about such a small detail, lol. As always, thank you for reading! :D

**Fictober Day 9:** "There's a certain taste to it."

* * *

Konekomaru stared at Rin in something akin to horror. "I can't believe you actually ate it."

Shima looked equally stunned. "Me, neither."

"I can," Bon said with a shrug, and when the other boys looked at him in shock, he said in defense, "What? He's Okumura. Just when ya think you've figured him out, he pulls a stunt like this."

Okumura-kun, however, didn't seem to hear their comments (or, perhaps, pleasantly ignored them) as he licked his lips, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's not actually that bad. There's... a certain taste to it, but it's not really as bad as you think it is."

"Okumura-kun," Konekomaru said slowly, swallowing thickly. "That drink was made by a demon. Are you sure you trust it?"

"I mean," Rin began with a shrug, "I'm a demon, and you all eat my cooking."

Konekomaru opened his mouth and closed it. That was true. _But it's different,_ he wanted to say, but no sound came out. _You're—_

He was... what? He was the son of Satan, the most powerful demon of all. He was also their friend. But it wasn't like the demon in front of Okumura-kun had done anything wrong. Konekomaru frowned. Not a hint of resentment lingered in Okumura-kun's words; in fact, he said them casually, like they had asked him what he had for breakfast this morning. His eyes were gentle as he looked back at the demon—it was a small implike creature, about the size of Kamiki-san's familiars—who looked very excited to hear Okumura-kun praise.

"Besides," he went on, oblivious to Konekomaru's sudden inner turmoil, "Ukobach is a demon. And he's such a good cook. In fact, this little guy reminds me of him."

"I guess you're right," Shima said abruptly with a sheepish expression. "We shouldn't have been so quick to judge, huh?"

Konekomaru looked down in shame. Shima was right.

"Nah," Rin said, patting the demon's head affectionately, and it chirped excitedly in response. "He says no hard feelings."

"I'm gonna try it," Bon said with an affirmative nod. "Give it here."

Another series of chirps. Okumura-kun's grin expanded a fraction. "Yeah?"

"Why the hell not," Bon said. "It didn't kill Okumura."

Okumura-kun was beaming, holding up the cup for Bon to take. Bon did, and Konekomaru held his breath despite himself as his friend took a sip.

And promptly choked.

Konekomaru's eyes popped in surprise. Bon spiraled into a coughing fit, and even the demon looked concerned when he pounded his fist against his chest as if that would help get the liquid out of his lungs.

"Whoa, Bon, you ok?" Shima asked.

"F-fine," he stammered, although the cough that followed his words left Konekomaru unconvinced. "Your definition is of 'not bad' is way different than mine, Okumura."

The demon looked incredibly heartbroken. Okumura-kun looked down at it with a frown, eyes shining with an emotion that Konekomaru couldn't read.

"Hey," Okumura-kun said gently. "It's alright. The one thing about cooking is that you can keep improving if you practice. Don't look so down."

The encouragement was seemingly what the demon needed because its eyes brightened considerably upon hearing Okumura-kun's words. Then it hopped out of his lap, scampering off deeper into the forest they were in. It was only fitting, because there was no way it could follow them back on campus. Not with the headmaster's protective barrier in place that warded off all demons.

Okumura-kun watched it go fondly, and Bon raised his brows. "You've got a stomach of steel, Okumura."

"Hmm?" His gaze found Bon. "Oh. C'mon, Suguro, it wasn't awful."

"It tasted like ass."

Surprisingly, that only coaxed Okumura-kun's smile to widen. "I'm sure the first meal I cooked tasted like ass, too. My old man ate every single bite."

Konekomaru's eyes softened a little. It was obvious Okumura-kun wasn't talking about the king of all demons. He didn't know much about Okumura-kun's adoptive father except the basic knowledge that he was the former paladin.

"Really?" Konekomaru asked quietly.

"Yeah," Okumura-kun answered. "Nobody else would touch it. But he ate it like it was the best thing he ever tasted."

There was such warmth in his words, and his eyes suddenly became distant, like he reliving an old memory. It made Konekomaru smile. Demon or human, Okumura-kun treated everyone like they were worth fighting for. Like their very life was a gift to him, and everything they did mattered.

People like that were really rare.


	32. sick (fictober day 10)

**Fictober Day 10:** "Listen, I can't explain it, you'll have to trust me."

* * *

Yukio was acting weird.

As usual, he was up before Rin. But what was unusual was that Yukio had almost forgotten his breakfast. Just walked right by the table, and then when Rin asked him about it, he'd only eaten a little bit before heading off to the academy. Then Rin had to bolt after him before he got too far because he'd left his lunch in the fridge.

"Oh," Yukio muttered distractedly when Rin's fingers curled around his wrist. "Right. Sorry."

Rin frowned as he immediately turned and fished in his pocket for his magic key. It was so unlike Yukio to forget things. Especially food—most of the time Rin was sure that Yukio loved to eat as much as Rin did.

But Rin stayed quiet as he watched him go, suspicion gnawing a gaping hole in his stomach. Turned back to the meal that was slowly growing cold on the table, taking a mechanical bite of his rice.

The next time he saw his brother, it was lunchtime. He was sitting on a bench, picking at his lunch absentmindedly, and was it just Rin or did he look a little paler than he had this morning...?

Nothing a little investigation wouldn't solve.

With that thought in mind, Rin trekked over to his brother and plopped down unceremoniously next to him, flashing a toothy grin. "Hey, bro. What's up?"

Yukio—punctual, stonefaced, always-prepared-for-everything Yukio—actually jumped, eyes wide, expression startled. But then he drank in Rin's form and his words, and said, "Oh. Nii-san."

"Nice to see you, too," Rin teased, rolling his eyes. Repeated, "What's up? You sick or somethin'?"

A blink. Two blinks. "Of course not."

"Then why are you acting so out of it?" he accused, the frown from this morning resurfacing on his face. "C'mon, you can't lie to your older bro."

"I'm fine," Yukio said shortly.

Rin's eyes narrowed. Typical Yukio. When would he realize that Rin could see through his lies a long time ago?

Then again, he'd been lied to about his heritage for several years before the truth was so violently revealed to him. And even after the death of their father, Yukio had lied to him. Aimed a gun at his head, finger resting on the trigger.

Inwardly, Rin shook his head. Not the time for that.

"Uh-huh," he said instead, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Right."

A sigh. "Don't you have something better to do than bug me?"

"Like _you_ have something better to do than talk to your own brother? You're just picking at your food like a bird."

"Nii-san," Yukio said in warning, but even when he glanced up to glare at him, it was weak.

Yukio was _definitely_ acting weird.

"Fine, fine," he relented anyway, tying up his bento again to find somewhere else to sit. "I'm leaving. Sorry my company is so unappealing."

Yukio said nothing. Rin didn't see him again after that, but when the time for cram school finally arrived, he found Shura making her way down the hall.

An idea formed in his head and before he could give it up thought he was chasing after her. "Hey! Shura!"

She turned, regarding him with a quizzical expression. "What izzit?"

"You seen Yukio around?"

"Not since yesterday," she answered. "Why? What's the four-eyed chicken up to now?"

Rin fought the urge to frown again. "Not sure. If you see him, keep an eye on him for me, 'k?"

Shura cocked her head to the side. Her eyes narrowed. "Who do I look like, his baby sitter?"

"Listen, I can't explain it," he insisted. "You'll have to trust me. Keep an eye on him!"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, which made Rin grin because that wasn't a no. He darted off in the other direction, heading toward his classroom, and called out, "Thanks!"

Physical Education came and went the way it usually did—Rin and Suguro competed against one another even though it wasn't a competition, their classmates looked exasperated, and Tsubaki-sensei left early after getting a phone call from his 'kitty.' When class was over, Rin bid Shiemi and the others farewell before making his way home.

He was home for all of three minutes before the front door to the dorm swung open, and an irritable Shura was guiding a pale Yukio inside.

Rin straightened immediately. "What happened? Yukio, are you ok?"

Shura was scowling. "Yer instincts were on point, kid. The chicken's got a fever."

Slowly, Rin's eyes widened, and he took a good look at his brother—he was slightly flushed and sweaty, seeming like he really needed to sit down. Definitely a lot worse than when he'd seen him earlier.

"It's not a big deal," Yukio said stubbornly, albeit weakly.

"Right," Shura said gruffly as she shifted Yukio's weight into Rin's care. "That's why Mephisto himself told me to escort ya home."

"I—"

"Shut up, Four Eyes," Rin said. "Just let me help you for once, ok? C'mon, let's get upstairs."

Shura lingered for a little while longer, staring at Yukio in a strange mixture of annoyance and not-quite worry. Rin eventually sent her off with an easy-going smile, but it slipped off his face when she was gone.

"You coulda just told me you didn't feel good," Rin said quietly as he faced Yukio again. "I could tell something was wrong."

"You could, huh?" Yukio whispered, eyes closed. He was now laying down on the bed, breathing raggedly.

"Yeah. I'm not as dumb as I look, you know."

"I didn't say you were dumb."

Rin quieted, studying Yukio with rapidly growing concern. Out of the two of them, it was always Yukio that got sick. He hoped it was something that he could just sleep off. "I'll make you some broth, ok? Don't move. Text me if you need anything."

Yukio didn't respond right away. Then, just as Rin was walking out the door, he heard Yukio say faintly, "Thank you, Nii-san."

Rin finally smiled—a genuine one, not something that just found its way on his face on instinct. "Anytime."


	33. unusual (fictober day 11)

**Fictober Day 11:** "It's not usually like this."

* * *

Shura studied the way her student sat, eyes closed in concentration as he practiced lighting the flames on the candles placed in front of him. For the past half hour, Rin had not said a word. Just breathed and breathed, body completely still. Her brows quirked in suspicion.

_It's not usually like this,_ she thought with a frown, and that was true. Within minutes of training, Rin would start babbling about something, or he would start moaning in frustration when he couldn't get his flames to do what he wanted them to. He was loud and obnoxious and _vibrant_ , like he trying to enjoy every possible second of his life that he could, all at once.

This silence... it was strange. Almost worrying. It was so _not_ Rin.

Shura marched over to her student. Plopped down beside him, legs sprawled out in front of her with lazy ease. "What's up, kid? Yer quiet."

Rin blinked slowly and exhaled. Opened his eyes but did not look at her. "Just thinkin'."

"Yeah?"

He was silent for several heartbeats. Stared at the candle with an unreadable expression, eyes now unblinking, muscles pulled taut like a puppet awaiting its next command.

Finally, he murmured, "I wonder where I'll go."

"Hmm?" Shura blinked. "Whattya mean?"

"When they kill me," he answered. "The Vatican, I mean. I don't know where I'll go."

There wasn't a lot that surprised Shura. She'd seen so much, all things good and bad. But the suddenness of his words sent her spiraling regardless. Floored her. She knew how to tease and press all of his buttons. She knew how to get him riled up. She wasn't sure what to say to _that._

Then again, this boy had been through so much, as well. Way too much. Life had given them both the short end of the stick—and Rin wasn't the type of person to dwell on that type of thing.

"The Vatican isn't gonna kill ya," she said eventually. "Not if I have a say in it."

That caused Rin to look at her, some emotion finally peeking through the haze of indifference. His eyes widened ever-so-slightly, and after a moment, his lips twitched. "Are you admitting that you care about me?"

"What? Noooo," she said instantly. "That's not what I meant."

"You implied it."

"Absolutely not."

"Yeah huh."

"Whatever, kid," she said, rolling her eyes before she stood back up. "Get back to yer training. And don't blow them up," she added for good measure.

She made it about ten feet away before the room burst with blue warmth and she turned around to see Rin wiping hot wax of his cheek.

Shura snorted. Rin whirled around to glare at her and proceeded to wail dramatically about how this wasn't working, that they needed to try something else and—

And _that_ was what Shura was used to.


	34. holy water (fictober day 12)

**Fictober Day 12:** "What if I don't see it?"

* * *

"Nii-san, LOOK OUT!"

The holy water grenade exploded right as Yukio's warning reached Rin's ears. Automatic instinct was to raise his arms to guard his face, but all that did was cause more pain.

Because the holy water felt like acid on his skin, bubbling and blistering, eating away at the flesh on his arms. And it had splashed all over his face as well, gnawing at his cheeks, at his chin, at his nose.

But his eyes hurt the worst. Like someone was digging knives into them, trying to pry them loose from their sockets. Every bit of pain Rin had felt before—every scraped knee, every bruised lip, every broken bone—seemed like it was coming back to haunt him, each wound opening up again as though it had never truly healed. Even in demon form, his body would not right itself in minutes the way it usually did. His skin just burned and tore and tore and burned.

This pain was _excruciating._

Rin fell to the ground, barely even managing a whimper as his knees collided with the grass. In the distance, he heard someone calling out to him, but it sounded so far away. When something brushed against his shoulder, he recoiled like a wounded animal.

"—ok, Nii-san." Yukio. That was Yukio. "Shh, shh. Hey. You're gonna be ok. We have to get you to safety, away from the demon."

_What if I don't see it?_ a garbled part of his brain thought. _What if I can't see_ anything?  


Of course, no words would come out. Just another series of whimpers. But it was true—everything was just so painfully, disturbingly _dark_ and the pain just kept getting worse, worse, _worse._ Yukio's voice kept fading and coming back like he was talking to him through a cell phone with a poor signal.

It wasn't just Yukio's voice. He heard others—his classmates, no doubt. But all of them were combining, growing louder, and then softer. Louder and softer. Rin's stomach churned and twisted with nausea. He was going to—

"Shhh," Yukio insisted quietly. "Shh, it's ok, Nii-san."

"...hurts," Rin mumbled hoarsely, finally. Or had he said anything out loud at all? He couldn't tell the difference between actually saying something and just thinking it. "C-can't see."

"I know it does," Yukio murmured, and then: "Shura, cover me! Suguro, I need a hand!"

Gunshots. An animalistic wail. Suguro shouted something in response, and then Rin was being lifted. He expelled a sputtery gasp as that caused his body to burn anew.

The pain was too much. Rin descended rapidly into unconsciousness.

He woke up very slowly. Even with his sensitive hearing, he could only catch fragments of conversations. Every sound, every smell—it was all knotted together. Everything lacked its usual sharpness. He couldn't even open his eyes. He was hot and cold simultaneously.

"...so scary," someone breathed out, low and feminine. A sniffle. "He looked like he was in so much pain."

"Yeah." This voice was much more gruff. "I've never seen him look so scared."

Silence. Was he asleep again? Rin tried to move, even if it was just a little bit. His body refused to obey.

Then: "He's been sleeping since yesterday. Should we come back later?"

"I can't stand the thought of him waking up alone."

"He won't be." Some shuffling. "I'm right here."

"Okumura-sensei," another voice whispered. "You need to rest."

"Koneko-san is right. You look like shit, man."

No response.

"Yuki-chan..." Hesitation. "You haven't left this room since we brought him here. You have to at least eat something."

Yukio wasn't eating? Sudden determination bulleted through him—injured or not, Rin wasn't going to let Yukio neglect basic biological needs like eating and sleeping over his well-being.

"It was my grenade," Yukio muttered finally. Hollowly. "It's my fault he's in here."

"S-s-stupid f-four eyes," Rin croaked out, voice barely audible. "Not... your fault."

He heard somebody gasp. Someone choked out a sob.

"Oh, Rin," came Shiemi's watery voice. She sounded closer to him now, like she was hovering right beside him but was too afraid to touch him.

Rin tried once again in vain to open his eyes. Attempted to sit up, to turn his head. Only his fingers would twitch in response.

"Don't... cry," he whispered. "N-not over me."

"You were hurt so badly," Shiemi went on, choking on her own tears. "We... we weren't sure when you were going to wake up!"

"We were worried, damn it," Suguro hissed.

"S'ok," Rin slurred.

"It's not," Yukio said in a tight voice. "You were hurt because of me."

"Lots of people... get hurt 'cause of me," Rin murmured. "I h-had it comin'." Repeated: "S'ok, Yukio. I... forgive you." His fingers twitched again. "Now... go eat, dumbass."

He heard another sob. He couldn't tell where it came from.


	35. observe (fictober day 13)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I just did a Rin/Shura drabble, but in my defense, I wrote this one first, lol. Thank you for reading!

**Fictober Day 13:** "I never knew it could be this way."

* * *

Yukio stared off in the distance at his older brother who laughed so fully alongside most of his other students. Genuine contentment reflected in his eyes as he playfully ran away from an aggravated Suguro. As he ruffled Kamiki's hair and grinned innocently when she glared heatedly at him for doing so. As he loudly encouraged Konekomaru to join them in their game—whatever game that was, Yukio had no clue.

Rin had always hated school. Always got into fights. Always found an excuse not to go. Always walked to school under the pretense of going but flaked out at the last minute. Dropped out after middle school.

Now, well, now he looked like he was actually enjoying himself. Cram school had just drawn to a close, and rather than leaving right after class, his students were fooling around by the fountain. Yukio was leaning against the wall, hugging the shadows.

"Oi," Shura's voice said, sharp but quiet. "What're ya mopin' over here for?"

Yukio rolled his eyes unthinkingly. "I'm not moping."

"Yer just standin' there watchin' the other kids with a sad look on yer face," she said flatly, narrowing her eyes. "That sounds like mopin' to me."

He could have kept the argument going. Could have wiped all hints of emotion of his face—it was a technique he'd practiced to perfection since he was a child. But it wasn't worth the energy. Shura was Shura—she'd keep pressing until she got an answer she was satisfied with.

"I never knew it could be this way," he admitted quietly, eyes drifting back to his brother. "He's so much different than he used to be."

Shura blinked, following his gaze. Her lips pursed into a thin line as she found Rin. "Ya think so?"

"He was so... withdrawn from people, and it always ended violently when he talked to others because he was always picking fights," he continued. "He'd always come home with bruises, and Father would always get onto him. When he was home, he was himself, but everywhere else, he was just so angry. It's... I never thought I'd see him enjoy being around people."

Shura was quiet. Yukio did not turn to face her; kept his gaze on his brother. Finally, she said, "He's a lot different than I expected, that I'm sure of."

That got his attention. "Oh?"

"Don't think yer gonna get me to talk all soft about him," she added suddenly, now scowling at him. "I just meant... he doesn't act like a demon, let alone the son of Satan. He's more human than most humans I know."

"Yeah," Yukio murmured, a smile of his own curling his lips as he took in Rin's radiant grin. "He is."


	36. fort (fictober day 14)

**Fictober Day 14:** "I can't come back."

* * *

Yukio's palm rested on the doorknob, looking doubtfully at his brother. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Of course," Rin said, bestowing him with a brazen grin.

For some reason, that made Yukio look even more nervous. "Nii-san, once I leave for this mission... I can't come back. Not until tomorrow."

Rin rolled his eyes. "I'm not five, Yukio. I can handle one night by myself. And honestly, I won't be alone! I have Kuro."

"That's right," Kuro confirmed, but all Yukio probably heard was a gleeful mewl.

Several moments of hesitation. Rin's grin expanded a fraction, all innocence, and his tail twitched behind him like it was itching to thrash around in excitement.

Finally, Yukio relented. "Alright. I guess I'll be going, then. Be careful."

"Right back at ya, bro."

Yukio smiled at him for just a moment before facing the door again and shifting his briefcase in his other hand. "Alright, Nii-san. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," he echoed, and then Yukio was gone, and Rin and Kuro were left standing the middle of the common's room. They'd already eaten—Rin was sure to have dinner done before Yukio left, so now there was little to do other than homework.

It would probably surprise Yukio if he completed at least one of the assignments given to him by his cram school instructors. Maybe Yukio would be proud of him for doing something productive. Rin pondered over this with a frown.

"Nah," he decided, before facing his familiar. "What do you wanna do, buddy?"

Kuro regarded him with a contemplative expression, and then looked around. "I'm not sure."

Well. That was to be expected. No matter how much they bickered, at least with Yukio here, he forgot just how empty this dorm really was. Now that he was gone—even if it was just for the night—Rin was being brutally reminded. The thought made him frown.

"Hey," Kuro said, butting his head against Rin's pantleg. "Don't look so sad! We'll figure something out."

He shot Kuro a smile, and they made their way upstairs. Maybe he _should_ get started on his homework—that would keep him busy. Or just frustrate the hell out of him. Or both.

Unmotivated and bored, he chose to just lie down on his bed. Kuro quickly joined him, curling up into a little ball by his hip, nestling into the blanket.

And promptly jumped out of his skin when Rin sat back up, a wide grin on his face. "That's it!"

Kuro blinked, long and slow. "What?"

"A fort," Rin cried. "Let's build a fort!"

Kuro, bless his heart, still looked very confused. "A... what?"

Rin was already pushing himself off the bed, reaching for his sheets. "We can use Yukio's blankets, too! And there are so many rooms, there's bound to be more!"

He was already out of the room searching for more before Kuro could respond.

The next morning, Rin didn't hear Yukio come in. He was sleeping in peacefully, bundled up with his demon familiar in a mass of pillows and blankets, only pulled into wakefulness when he felt something poke his shoulder. Hard.

Harder.

Harder.

"Nnn... what?" he mumbled groggily, rolling over.

"Nii-san, what did you _do?_ "

He peeped one eye open, sleepily taking in his (very awesome, thank you for very much) fort. Blankets were scattered about in mountains, pinned up on the bed frames, on the walls, even draped over his desk. He hadn't been able to find as many pillows, sadly, but he was pretty proud of what he'd made the previous night.

"Oh? This?" He grinned at his brother. "It's my fort. Cool, isn't it?"

Yukio looked beyond unimpressed. "'I'm not five,' he tells me. 'I can handle one night by myself,' he says. Nii-san, our room is a mess!"

"Admit it. You're jealous," Rin said, his grin borderline cocky.

Yukio let out an exasperated breath. Rin just continued to smirk.


	37. delicate (fictober day 15)

**Fictober Day 15:** "That's what I'm talking about."

* * *

Amaimon stared down at Father's youngest with a bored expression. "He is very fragile, don't you think?"

For several hours, his brother had been ignoring him. Just kept flipping through page after page of paperwork, occasionally stopping to sip on a cup of tea. But it was that line, and that line alone, that caused his brother to look at him with the slightest hint of curiosity, one brow arched.

"Hmm?"

"The one they call Okumura Rin," Aimaimon went on flatly. "He is delicate."

With a sigh, Samael turned his full attention toward the window Amaimon was looking through. His fingers threaded together to give his chin something to rest on as he leaned on his desk. "I always thought he was rather... durable, you could say."

It wasn't what Amaimon meant. Not delicate in a physical sense. Okumura Rin was much stronger than any normal human being. Amaimon could snap human bones with a flick of his wrist, but not Okumura's. He could take multiple beatings and the next morning he would be fine. Could cough up blood and keep fighting.

No, Okumura Rin was delicate in an emotional sense. It was written all over his face now, the way his eyes widened with disbelief. The way his lips parted, curved into a permanent frown, staring after the group of humans with open hurt.

He had a body like impenetrable steel but a heart made of glass.

"Or, perhaps, you have something else in mind?" Samael pressed when Amaimon remained silent, casting him a knowing side glance.

"That." He pointed slowly at their youngest brother whose expression was full of uncertainty and heartbreak. "That's what I'm talking about."

Samael blinked slowly and peered down at the half-demon who was so pathetically vulnerable on the campus, unaware of their curious eyes. He murmured, "I see. Yes, he is quite frail. Although that is to be expected. He is half-human, after all. Human emotions are a fickle thing."

Amaimon's eyes remained impassive as he continued to watch Okumura Rin's expression crack and crumble like the demon side of him did not exist. He looked so filthily _human_ at this moment, letting his emotions get the best of him.

A fickle thing, indeed.


	38. listen (fictober day 16)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for disappearing again, i haven't been ao3 much lately but I'm trying to fix that :)

**Fictober Day 16:** "Listen. No, really listen."

* * *

The temperature had dipped into a new level of cold when the sun went down. Izumo pulled her coat closer to her body, her breath visible as she strolled down the sidewalk. It was probably stupid to be out here in this weather, but she stubbornly refused to go back to her dorm. Not now. Not after what happened between her and Paku.

Her eyes and nose burned and her throat ached. But she wasn't crying. She wasn't. Really. She wasn't ups—

Her gaze was lowered and she wasn't watching where she was going, so she didn't see him coming until it was too late. Until she bumped smack into his shoulder, causing them both to stumble backward.

"Wha—? Oh. Eyebrows. It's you."

Oh, shit. Not him.

Izumo kept her gaze lowered, glaring at the ground as she shoved her hands back in her pockets. "What?"

"Nothing," he said slowly. "I just didn't expect to see you out—hey, are you crying? What's wrong?"

"No," she snapped quickly, but the break evident in her voice betrayed her.

Rin just stood still, not making any attempt to move. "Are you... are you sure?"

"Yes, now leave me alone, damn it," Izumo said heatedly, before turning so she could march off in the other direction.

"Wait! Izumo, listen."

His hand made contact with her shoulder and she tried to brush him off with a harsh shrug, but he was adamant.

"No, really listen," Rin persisted, pinching the fabric of her jacket. "It's ok. I'm on your side, here. I just want to know what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

Rin quieted, out of respect or because he was at a loss for words, she didn't know. Nor did she care. But as she started to walk away, he just fell in step with her, much to her annoyance.

"Why are you still here?" she asked flatly without looking at him.

"Maybe I'm headed in this direction, too," Rin said casually.

She huffed but did not give a verbal response. Her hands curled into fists as she staved off shivers, careful to keep her gaze fixed on her path ahead.

"Say," Rin went on, "isn't your dorm that way?"

Izumo was stubbornly silent.

"Did something happen? Did you get in a fight with somebody?"

That made her pause. "How did you do that?"

A blink. "Do what?"

Was he doing that on purpose? Playing dumb? Izumo's eyes narrowed, pinning him with a glare that would have frozen anyone else into place. But the tearstains on her cheeks and the redness of her nose and eyes ruined the effect, watering down her resolve.

So she tore her gaze away from his, now staring at the ground in not-quite defeat. "Alright, fine. I... I got in a fight with Paku. There. Are you happy now?"

Rin was silent again, but she didn't dare look up to see his expression. Thinking about it made her eyes sting anew, but she determinedly blinked the sensation away.

"I see," he murmured faintly.

"It's actually stupid," she went on without even thinking. "It's just we rarely fight and I didn't know what to do, ok? So I left."

Seconds inched by slowly, and neither of them spoke, just listened to the thrum of the city and the faint whispers of the winter wind. Eventually, Rin said, "I can't say any of my advice will hold any weight. I mean, have you met me? I don't have that many friends, either." A humorless laugh. "But I've met Paku. I know she cares about you. So... maybe you should head back there and talk it out."

Izumo inwardly sighed. She wasn't all that great with apologies and mushy-gushy stuff, and Paku knew that. Some primal piece of her was annoyed at Rin's suggestion, whether he was sincere or not.

Except... that sincerity _did_ mean something to her. Just a tiny, little bit. It wormed its way into her heart and she couldn't ignore it.

"Yeah, maybe," she muttered quietly.

Rin hesitated. "I could walk back with you if that would make easier?"

She had to stifle the instinctive scoff that rose in her throat. She didn't need a babysitter. She didn't need somebody to hold her hand. Come to think of it, what the hell was _he_ doing out here, anyway?

But what came out instead wasn't at all what she was thinking: "Fine. Whatever. Just don't annoy me more than you already have."

In her pants pocket, her phone vibrated. Cold fingers reached for the device and she flipped it open. A message from Paku.

_I'm sorry. I hope you're ok._

"Well?" she pressed impatiently when Rin just stood there. "Let's go already."

Now he was beaming. "Right. Let's go."


	39. hopeless romantic (fictober day 17)

**Fictober Day 17:** "There is just something about them/him/her."

* * *

Okumura was in Suguro's spot when Suguro walked in, staring at Shima with curious eyes, and Suguro's first thought was, _Oh, no. Not again._

At least one day a week, Shima had Okumura wrapped up in his stories that were most likely full of stretched truths and dramatics. Shima—the little shit—was a fairly decent liar and Okumura...

Well, Okumura was just downright _gullible._

"Yeah," Shima was saying, a ridiculously dreamy look painted on his face. "There is just something about her. I can't say what it is, but... she's absolutely amazing."

"Right," Suguro said flatly with his eyes narrowed as he neared their desks. "Who are you talking about now? Suzuki? Iwamoto? Masuda?"

Shima looked at him in surprise, but that quickly shifted into mock hurt. "What do you mean, Bon?"

An eye roll. "You damn well know what I mean. You're pullin' Okumura's leg. You're not smitten with some girl. You change targets almost every day."

Okumura frowned, looking confused. "Are you serious?"

Before Suguro could properly explain, Moriyama said shyly, "Rin? Did you change seats?"

"Nah," Okumura said, before standing. "Shima was just telling me about his new crush. I'm moving now."

"C-crush?" Moriyama stuttered, blinking. And then she smiled, soft and timid and strangely distant. "That's... romantic."

_Not her, too._

Suguro rolled his eyes again as that caused the stupidly whistful look to crawl back onto Shima's face. He shouldn't have been surprised. If anyone besides Okumura would fall for Shima's tricks, it would be impossibly innocent Moriyama.

For all Okumura's annoying secrecy and idiotic optimism and insanely powerful strength (which, ok, maybe that was a little badass, but he wasn't admitting that out loud), Suguro didn't expect 'hopeless romantic' to be at the top of that list.


	40. not like you (fictober day 18)

**Fictober Day 18:** "Secrets? I love secrets."

* * *

In his classmates' defense, they couldn't understand what the stupid monster behind him was saying. The majority of humans did not understand demon tongue. It was all just indecipherable groans or chatter.

But Rin could hear it. Every damn word. Being able to comprehend any and all demon languages was a blessing in a case like Ukobach or Kuro—but at times like these, it was an awful curse.

Especially when it began cackling as it chased Rin like he would get a prize for catching him. Especially when it taunted him as if he knew him.

"—and would you care to tell me, son of Satan, why you've dragged me so far away from my meal?" it went on, each word accompanied by howling, screeching laughter. "Or are you just going to continue to keep secrets? I love secrets. _All_ demons love a good secret."

Rin hated secrets. Secrets bred insecurities and pain and isolation. Secrets could burn bridges. Secrets could cause damage that was damn near irreparable. Secrets were all things dirty and frowned upon. They hurt and hurt and _hurt_ people—

"I really don't want to hurt you," the demon persisted, each step it made shaking the earth. Rin ran still, ran with everything in him. "I'd get in so much trouble if I did."

It sounded like it really didn't care.

"Your father would be so displeased—"

Something twitched inside Rin. Twitched and snapped like tree limbs breaking apart, getting ready to descend upon the ground with the force of a tidal wave. He ran still, ignoring the spell of anger that bloomed inside him.

"—it'd be like hurting _family._ "

That did it.

Without even thinking, Rin whirled around, pulling his sword free of its sheath. "Don't you _dare_ call me your family," he hissed, venom dripping from every word. "Don't you _dare_ think that I am _anything_ like you!"

It happened so fast. Rin was so fueled with rage that he didn't pay attention to what he was doing. But suddenly his sword was plunging deep into the demon's skin. Somewhere way behind him, he heard somebody shouting. Calling out. Calling for him.

But he didn't care. In a flash of blue and black, the demon was gone, and his anger went with it, and Rin left was staring emptily at the space it once occupied.

He stood there panting for a while. Seconds crawled into minutes. But how many minutes passed? He couldn't be entirely sure, but all of a sudden someone was nearing him, their shoes crunching on the grass.

"Rin...?" Shiemi murmured hesitantly.

"Damn it, Okumura," Suguro cried out, sounding incredibly pissed. "We were supposed to collect one of its scales! Did you forget that part? We were specifically told not to kill it!"

The words passed right through him. Numbly, a hand came up to wipe his cheek to wipe off a sticky substance. The demon's blood, dark and sickeningly warm.

When he gave no response, Konekomaru asked in a worried voice, "Okumura-kun? Are you alright?"

_I'm not like that demon,_ he thought to himself, teeth slamming together. _But... but I barely hesitated before I killed it. What does that mean? What does that fucking_ mean?

"Rin," Shiemi repeated softly. Sadly. "You're crying."

He wiped the demon's blood on his pants, not caring if it would stain. Then, in a hoarse voice: "...sorry. I'll take the blame for this one, guys."

He started to walk off without another word, leaving a bunch of stunned exwires in his wake.


	41. warning (fictober day 19)

**Fictober Day 19:** "Yes, I admit it, you were right."

* * *

"I wouldn't eat that if I were you."

Shima paused, quirking a brow. Okumura-kun was staring intently at him. Or, more specifically, at the cup of milk pudding in his hand.

"Why not?" he asked, frowning. "I just got it a couple days ago. It's not bad."

"It smells... weird," Okumura-kun said, nose twitching in displeasure.

Curiously, Shima took a whiff of the milk pudding but did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Either Okumura-kun was a little off today... or he'd completely flipped his lid. "It smells fine."

His classmate, however, looked entirely unconvinced. A hint of worry was evident in his gaze as he glanced back and forth between Shima and the treat in his hands. Shima took a giant spoonful and shoved it in his mouth. "See? Tastes fine, too."

"If... if you're sure," he said finally. Hesitantly.

Shima grinned. "I'm sure."

Except forty-five minutes later, Shima wasn't so sure.

He sat at his desk, cradling his stomach, trying to stifle a groan. He was nauseous, and he had a feeling that his delicious, yummy snack was going to revisit him. That would _not_ sit well with the ladies, he was certain of that.

He supposed he wasn't doing a good job at hiding his discomfort because Izumo-chan eyed him with boredom. "What's wrong with you?"

"I think... I ate something bad."

A scoff. Izumo-chan turned her attention back toward the front of the classroom.

Koneko-san looked at him in concern. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary, Shima-kun."

Shima opened his mouth to respond but eventually decided not to. Let his forehead hit his desk with a soft thud as he whimpered softly.

"Shima? You good?"

Oh, crap. That was Okumura-kun. Okumura-kun who had warned him not to eat the milk pudding. Shima didn't even want to face him right now. Against his will, he mumbled, "Yes, I admit it. You were right."

A pause. "What?"

"The pudding," he said with a groan. "It was bad. You were right. I didn't listen to you and you're free to tell me 'I told you so' now."

"Shima, you do realize Okumura is half-demon, right?" Bon said. "His senses are sharp as hell. Damn right, you should have listened to him if he said it was bad. Or at least checked the expiration date."

Shima raised his head long enough to send a weak glare in Bon's direction. "I didn't think it was bad! It smelled fine!" In a quieter voice: "You're all so cruel to me."

Okumura-kun said nothing, at first. Then, slowly: "I'm not gonna tell you 'I told you so.' I hate it when people say that to me. It's like rubbing salt in the wound." When Shima glanced up again, he saw the apologetic smile on Okumura-kun's face. "Sorry you feel like shit, Shima. Konekomaru's right. Maybe you _should_ go lay down or something."

"You still have time since class hasn't started yet," Konekomaru insisted.

Shima just whimpered.


	42. memories (fictober day 20)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um... sorry i disappeared, again. i went on a break for a bit. but I'm back. :) thanks for all your lovely comments and kudos!!

**Fictober Day 20:** "You could talk about it, you know?"

* * *

Shiemi watched in wonder as Rin chopped up the stalk of celery with admirable speed and skill. She knew that Rin was a wonderful cook, but she'd never seen anyone chop that fast! How in the world he'd managed to cut up the celery, carrots, and onions (without crying, even!) in under ten minutes was an impressive feat.

Or at least, it was until he slowed to stop to look at her with a puzzled expression. "Uh? Shiemi? You ok?"

She jumped, feeling her cheeks burn under the weight of his gaze. "Y-yeah, of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just... you have this look on your face." He paused and puffed up his cheeks, eyes widening as if to mirrors hers.

Which, of course, made Shiemi's face feel even hotter and her hands instinctively came up to hide her face, only to peer at him through the cracks of her fingers. "I don't really look like that, do I?"

The expression dissolved immediately into musical laughter. "Well, not anymore."

"I was... I was just amazed! At your cooking skills!"

His grin widened, eyes shining. "Really?"

"Of course!" Embarrassment gave way to determination as her hands moved away from her face, balling into fists. "Where did you learn to prep vegetables like this?"

"I've been practicing since I was a kid," he answered. "I was really clumsy when I started, believe me. I cut my fingers so many times that I bandaids on them every day. My old man would always joke that I was the reason we didn't have any band-aids around the monastery. The other priests would laugh and laugh."

His gaze softened considerably as he spoke, his smile shifting from excited and cheeky to fond and oddly fragile, like it one wrong word would send it to the floor and cause it to shatter.

"One time, it took me a whole forty-five minutes to chop one onion," he went on. "I was crying because if you cut an onion wrong it usually makes people cry, and I made the mistake of rubbing my eyes _before_ I washed my hands. It stung so damn bad, my old man had to help me wash my eyes and had to finish the onion himself. And the next day we were both laughing about it."

"Yeah?" she prompted quietly.

Her voice seemed to trigger something in his brain because suddenly he blinked and the strangely distant, sad expression was gone. In moments, he looked sheepish. "Sorry. I'm goin' on and on about this. Must be weird, huh?"

Shiemi blinked, surprised. "No, not at all! I like hearing family stories. They're... really nice to listen to." She beamed up at him. "You could talk about it, you know. Or talk about it more, at least. About your father. I don't mind one bit."

"Really?" he asked, suddenly looking timid. It was a little strange, to see him sift through so many emotions, so quickly. "It's just, usually, I cook by myself or with Ukobach, and he's not that much of a talker. It's... kind of cool, having someone here with me. Reminds me of back home."

Shiemi's smile became tender. Gentle. "I'd love to hear more stories about your home life."

"Well, then, we have to make it fair," Rin said, tail twitching mischievously behind him. "You can tell me about your home life, and I'll tell you about mine."

"Sure," she said kindly, because even though she'd been friends with Rin for so long, he still felt like a mystery to her. There were so many things about him, about his past, about his family, that she didn't know.

And that was how the rest of the evening went, the two of them trading stories and memories, as Rin finished prepping the veggies and started on something else. It wasn't just a demon talking to a human. It didn't even feel like they were exwires in training, in this moment.

Just two friends, two young teens, learning a little bit more about each other.


	43. without you (fictober day 21)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for waiting. :) these are already written, i just keep forgetting to post!

**Fictober Day 21:** "Change is annoyingly difficult."

* * *

"This is all your fault," Suguro muttered.

"Excuse me?" Izumo's voice was sharp. "If I'm recalling correctly, this is _your_ fault. You're the one who yelled first."

"There they go again," Konekomaru said quietly.

"Yeah," Shima added with a sigh. "Some things never change."

They were all in the classroom with the desks pushed aside so they could sit a circle, each exwire with a Bariyon in their lap. Izumo and Suguro had got into another argument, and this was their punishment.

"This is stupid," Izumo grumbled under her breath.

"How do you think I feel?" Suguro snapped.

Rin expelled a slow breath. He wasn't really enjoying this, either. Especially because pain-in-the-ass Yukio had stepped out almost fifteen minutes ago and still hadn't returned. Still... "I think we need to change our tactic. Something that involves less fighting."

"Don't go all teacher-mode on us just 'cause your brother's not here," Suguro said gruffly. "I'm not in the mood."

"Bon," Konekomaru said hesitantly, "I think he means that... you both need to stop bickering. It's not getting us anywhere, and I'd rather not get another lecture from Okumura-sensei."

Suguro still looked decidedly unhappy, but finally muttered, "Yeah. Yeah, I see your point. Things need to change."

"Yeah? How?" Izumo asked flatly. "Change is annoyingly difficult."

Rin hummed. He could agree with that. In the span of a few days, his whole life had been flipped upside down. Everything he knew had been stripped from him within a few seconds, with just a few words. His humanity, gone. His father, gone. His old life, gone. Just like that.

"A little change is good sometimes," Shiemi said timidly, looking just as uncomfortable as the rest of them. "It can be scary sometimes, but it can lead to great things."

"That's also true," Rin murmured.

Shiemi craned her neck toward him, blinking in confusion. "You agree with Kamiki-san?"

"Well..." He started to shift his weight but stopped with a wince when that caused a great deal of discomfort. These rocks were really fucking annoying, that was for sure. "It's difficult when you're not prepared. When I first found out what I was... it was pretty jarring. I didn't even get a moment to myself to stop and think, 'Is this really happening?' Everything just... kept changing, and fast. But... I guess if it didn't, I wouldn't have gotten to meet all of you. I probably wouldn't even be in school."

Silence followed his confession, stretched out so long that he thought that maybe he shouldn't have said anything. But then, despite the fact that she had a rock demon in her lap, Shiemi smiled at him. Her eyes were sad. "Who, Rin."

Now it was Rin's turn to blink. "What?"

"You're a _who_ , not a _what_ ," she said, with such certainty that it startled him.

"Oh," he said faintly, grinning nervously. "Sorry."

"And I'm glad I got to meet you, too," she finished warmly.

"Me, too," Konekomaru echoed with a shy smile of his own.

"I don't think class would be the same without you, honestly," Shima added.

"A lot quieter, probably," Suguro said, with a gruff nod.

"I don't even think I'd be at school, either, if not for you," Shiemi murmured suddenly.

"Ugh," Izumo muttered, rolling her eyes. "This is getting sickeningly sweet."

"Admit it," Shima said slyly, grinning. "You'd miss Okumura-kun, too, if he weren't here."

Izumo's cheeks flushed, and she stubbornly made a point of looking in the opposite direction. "Yeah, yeah, it'd be different without him here. So what?"

Suddenly, the weight in his lap seemed non-existent. His tail uncoiled from around his abdomen, swishing back and forth in timid excitement. He could tell by the looks on their faces that they were all being genuine, in their own way. Despite himself, he felt deeply touched.

Didn't pay attention to the way the door was cracked. Nor did he notice Yukio lurking right outside the classroom door, silently listening to their conversation.


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was low-key inspired by that one ep of pokémon where Ash is trapped in the snowstorm with his poké pals. XD

**Fictober Day 22:** "We could have a chance."

* * *

Suguro rubbed his hands together, trying to feed warmth into them. "It's fucking freezing in here."

"You c-can say that again," Shima stuttered, visibly shivering.

"You f-forgot dark," Miwa added.

Shima hummed in agreement and continued, "We're going to die in here."

"We are not," Kamiki said flatly, although there was a faint tremor in her voice that told everyone she was cold as well.

"Really?" Shima said doubtfully. "B-because Okumura-sensei and Kirigakure-sensei have been gone for almost twenty minutes and there's no heat. How much longer are they gonna take? How are we s-supposed to keep warm? We don't stand a chance."

Suguro was wondering something similar. He was getting pissed off just waiting for their instructors to return with little to do other than talk to each other. Just because some demon had broken through the headmaster's barrier didn't mean they had to wait around like helpless children! They could have helped fight it off, too.

Except Okumura-sensei had said it was a pretty powerful demon, and that they'd been given orders to remain in the classroom until the coast was clear. But then the power had gone out, and with winter coming in strong, the temperature was drastically colder than it had been twenty minutes ago.

"Actually," Okumura said suddenly. "We could have a chance."

It was Moriyama who looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, Rin?"

Suguro heard shuffling. Metal clanking. And then—

"Hey," Suguro snapped when Okumura unsheathed his sword. "What're ya doin'?"

The whole room was illuminated by the brightness of his flames, giving everything a blue tint, and Suguro saw him grin. "Relax. I'm just freeing my flames because they're warm."

Suguro blinked. A second later, Moriyama was stepping closer to him, her fingers outstretched like she was leeching warmth from a campfire. "You're right, Rin! They are warm!"

Shima was already making his way toward Okumura, too. He nearly whimpered. "Holy hell, Okumura-kun. You're a lifesaver."

"You're... you're sure it won't burn?" Konekomaru asked hesitantly.

Okumura's grin expanded, radiant like a beam of the sun. He didn't seem at all offended by the implication of Konekomaru's question. "Nah. I've learned some things while training with Shura. I'm in control."

Konekomaru smiled timidly at his response and stepped closer before expelling a pleasant hum. "Wow."

"Eyebrows? Suguro? I don't bite," Okumura said, beaming.

Suguro grumbled under his breath, but ultimately decided it was better than freezing to death. "Alright, fine. I'm comin'. But if you burn me, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Noted."

Then Okumura was looking expectantly at Kamiki, who scowled at him. She crossed her arms, but it did little to hide the violent tremors in her body, which Okumura seemed to pick up on because his smile dimmed a little. "You look cold."

"Maybe I am," Kamiki said snootily.

"Then come join us!"

"I'm not joining your cuddle puddle."

Suguro snorted. "We are _not_ cuddling."

They all inched toward the wall, and it wasn't long before Okumura sat down. Everyone around him followed, and finally, Kamiki huffed. "Fine. Whatever. I'm only doing this because I hate the cold."

"You're not the only one," Suguro muttered.

And that was how they spent the next hour: all gathered in a half-circle against the wall, with Okumura in the middle. Boredom was heavy in the atmosphere, and their instructors had yet to return.

"Rin?" Moriyama's voice was dripping with worry. "Are you alright?"

Suguro looked back at him, eyes widening when he saw the way Okumura's normally-bright flames waver like a flickering candlelight. He frowned, catching the fatigue etched across Okumura's face.

"Hey, she's right," Suguro said with a scowl. "You look beat."

Okumura laughed, but it was watered down with exhaustion. "Yeah. Sorry. Never had my flames out for this long." He yawned. "But it's fine. No big deal."

Moriyama insisted, "You should take a break! We've been warm for a while now!"

"Nah," he repeated, with a tired wave of dismissal. "S'fine. I'm good."

Suguro's scowl deepened. It was just like Okumura to pull a stunt like this—use all of his energy on the behalf of his classmates. He pushed himself off the floor. "If you don't rest, Okumura, we're all just gonna move to the other side of the room."

"Hey," Shima said, but cowered under Suguro's harsh glare. "I—I mean, yeah, Okumura-kun. Save your energy."

"You've done more than enough for us," Konekomaru said quietly. "It's ok. Really."

Okumura opened his mouth to reply, but just then, the lights above them flickered before fully powering on. Okumura-sensei burst through the door, looking urgent, but paused when he saw his students. Raised his brows quizzically.

"For the love of—Nii-san, what are you _doing?_ "

He flashed that same grin—two parts cheeky, eight parts exhaustion—and finally returned his sword to its sheath. "Keepin' my friends warm."

"You've got to be kidding me," Okumura-sensei deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How long has he been doing this?"

"...for about an hour, sensei," Konekomaru answered hesitantly.

"We were just trying to convince him to take a damn break when you came back in here," Suguro said. "What the hell took so long?"

"There was... a complication," Okumura-sensei said vaguely. "I think this is a given, but since the demon has been taken care of, you're all free to go. I'll see you next class."

Suguro bit back a scoff. He turned back to Okumura, swallowing his pride, because the least he could do was give his thanks for making sure they didn't freeze their asses off.

Okumura was already out cold.


	45. someday (fictober day 23)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ads;lf;jasdjf your comments mean the world to me <3

**Fictober Day 23:** "You can't give more than yourself."

* * *

"Kuro?"

Said cat sidhe looked up at him, confused and worried. "Yeah?"

Rin was quiet, at first. Didn't meet his familiar's gaze. Then he rolled over on the sheets, now facing the wall, tail hanging limply over the edge of the bed. "Do you ever feel like... you're giving too much? And it still doesn't feel like it's enough?"

A pause. "What do you mean, Rin? You can't give more than yourself."

A sigh, low and soft and dangerously shaky. Like a house of cards that was threatening to collapse. Rin swallowed with difficulty, trying to ignore the knot in his throat. "I mean... actually, I don't know. Never mind."

There were only so many things he could put into words. There were things he couldn't describe. Like the pain of having his friends walk right into his heart and tear it up from the inside. Like the pain of knowing that death stood patiently on the other side of the street, waiting for him to cross. Like the pain of watching his father sacrifice his life for him, sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss of decay and destruction.

And the pain of knowing he was trying his best to keep going, to keep smiling like it didn't bother him but _damn it_ , it was heavy. He felt heavy. Like everything was just pilling on his shoulders, stacking higher and higher, enjoying the feeling of weighing him down.

"It's... it's just a lot, you know?" he whispered in a tight voice.

Kuro leapt onto his hip and made his way up to his shoulder, butting Rin's chin with his head. "It'll be ok someday, Rin. I know it will."

Rin's hand came up to pet the back of Kuro's ears and smiled softly when Kuro trilled in delight. Then he folded his legs up, wrapping his arms around Kuro and seeking comfort in the way that he purred.

"Yeah," he murmured softly. "Someday."


	46. shadow (fictober day 24)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> your comments give me liiiiifeeee :'( thank you so much for reading, everyone!

**Fictober Day 24:** "Patience... is not something I'm known for."

* * *

Yukio wasn't sure why he agreed to this.

His students were currently all in the commons area—save Rin, who was preparing supper for all of them—and they were supposed to be studying. That was what they all agreed on before coming over here. Yukio thought it might have been a good idea because maybe, _just maybe,_ it would encourage Rin to study as well.

But then.

Then Shima brought over that stupid board game. And that plan of getting his brother to study went right out the window.

"...a game like this takes patience, Izumo-chan," he was saying, grinning slyly. "Why don't you watch the pro, hmm?"

A scoff. "Patience is not something I'm known for, geek. And I doubt you're a pro."

"Shima-kun..." Miwa murmured hesitantly. "She said she doesn't want to play. I think you should leave her be."

"Oh, she'll come around, Koneko."

Suguro snorted. "Yeah, right."

The banter went on for a while, with Shima making suggestive comments that made Kamiki seethe and glare. Even Suguro seemed annoyed. Shiemi and Miwa just looked like they weren't sure what to do.

Yukio heaved out a sigh of defeat, rubbing his temple. He should have known it would have ended up like this. He supposed they did make a little bit of progress before Shima pulled the game out, but it was before Rin even got a chance to open his textbook.

This was going to be a long night.

The conversation was quickly cut short when they heard a startled yelp, followed by a loud clank of Rin dropping some dish. Yukio's eyes popped and he was immediately darting toward the kitchen. The sound of shuffling and footsteps confirmed that he wasn't the only one.

"Nii-san? Are you—oh."

Rin was on the floor, but his sheepish expression was enough to tell him that he was fine. Especially when he rubbed the back of his neck, tail twitching nervously. Classic 'oops' expression. "Sorry for all the noise."

"What happened, Rin?" Shiemi asked, squeezing by to come help him up.

But Rin was already pushing himself off the floor, sweeping back down to grab the steel dish he'd dropped. "Oh, I uh... heh heh. I was getting ready to wash this and thought I saw something, and it spooked me, but... turns out it was just my shadow. Heh."

Yukio blinked. And blinked again. But Rin's embarrassed but wide grin didn't fade. He seriously wasn't joking.

Suguro grumbled something under his breath. Then: "Only this kid."

Yukio sighed again, lips pursing into a thin line. "You're not wrong."

This was _definitely_ going to be a long night.


	47. lunch (fictober day 25)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm such a broken record, lol, but thank you for all the comments and kudos!!! i'm behind on replies, but i hope you enjoy :)

**Fictober Day 25:** "I could really eat something."

* * *

Konekomaru refrained from clutching his stomach as he felt the hollow ache of hunger pangs. It was a good thing it was lunchtime because he wasn't sure if how much longer he could wait.

 _I could really eat something,_ he thought, making a face. He almost felt lightheaded.

Perhaps that was his own fault. He'd spent the majority of the morning cramming for a quiz in one of his classes, and in doing so he'd forgotten to eat. Regret was heavy in his mind, and when he finally reached the usual spot that he, Bon, and Shima usually ate their meals, he eagerly pulled his bag open...

"I forgot my lunch," he deadpanned, eyes widening. "I... I can't believe I forgot my lunch!"

Konekomaru frowned at his bag that only contained school materials like his textbooks and pencils. He mentally went over his activities earlier this morning, brutality reminded with increasing horror that he left his bento on his desk in his dorm.

He could go get it. But the fault in that plan was time—by the time he reached his dorm and made it back here, lunch was sure to be over. And he didn't have enough money to buy something in the concessions.

Disappointed, Konekomaru slumped against the tree. He... he could last a few more hours, right? It couldn't be that bad.

(His growling stomach said otherwise.)

"Hey, Konekomaru! What's with the long face?"

Konekomaru jumped in surprise, shooting a startled look in Okumura-kun's direction. He was grinning at first, but that grin soon gave way to concern as he took in Konekomaru's expression. He plopped down next to him.

"Where's your lunch?"

Konekomaru winced. Murmured truthfully, "I don't have one."

"What?" Now he looked offended. "Well, you have to eat! You need your strength! Here, we'll share mine."

"Oh, I couldn't ask," Konekomaru mumbled.

"You didn't ask. I offered first. C'mon," he added, already opening up his bento. "Besides, I always bring extra just in case."

"Extra what? What's going on?" Bon's curious voice sounded over the two. He was walking leisurely toward them, raising a critical brow.

Konekomaru rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile. "I forgot my lunch this morning."

"Again?" Shima said with an easy laugh. "Koneko-san. That's the second time this week."

"I'm gonna tape it to your hand before you leave next," Bon muttered.

Okumura-kun looked back at him with eyes that just got wider and wider. "So this has happened before?"

Konekomaru's face felt hot. How embarrassing. "I, uh... I keep getting distracted in the mornings. Sometimes I just get something here but..."

"It's kind of pricey, isn't it?" Okumura-kun's smirk was back. "I really don't mind sharing. It's fine."

"Here, you can have a bite of mine, too," Bon added.

Konekomaru was getting ready to politely decline, because he couldn't bring himself to accept their offer when it was his own fault he was without a meal, but his stomach growled again and Okumura-kun started laughing, coaxing the flush on his cheeks to darken even more.

Finally, he gave them a tiny smile. "Thank you, guys."

Okumura-kun was beaming. The rest of the day came and went just as it normally did, and Konekomaru had to admit, it was much easier to focus on his schoolwork with food in his stomach.

Then the weekend arrived. He spent the majority of it studying with Bon and Shima, and after that, they were tidying up the dorm. Sunday was a rest day, and then it was Monday again.

"Hey," Okumura-kun called out, as he strolled up to their usual eating spot on the campus. "Guess what?"

Konekomaru smiled politely. "What?"

He bestowed him with a huge, cheeky grin, just like last week, and held out a bento. "I wasn't sure if you'd forget your lunch again, so I made an extra. And, well, if you do have one, you could always eat it for dinner. It'll still be good by then."

Konekomaru's heart swelled, and for several moments, all he could do was stare. Then: "O-oh. That's, um. That's kind of you."

He twisted his body, reached for his bag, opening it up to reveal...

No lunch.

"Thought so," Okumura-kun said, chuckling. "You're just like Yukio. He's so caught up with his work that he forgets things sometimes, too." Then he held out the bento again, neatly tied up in a soft white cloth. "Go on. Eat up."

Konekomaru swallowed, tears of gratitude gathering in his eyes. He blinked them away, another smile touching his lips. "You're very kind, Okumura-kun."

"At least somebody thinks so," he said, before sitting. "For real, it's no biggie. I'd rest easier knowing my friends have some food to eat."

Carefully, Konekomaru untied the cloth as if it was fragile, taking note of the chopsticks that lay inside as well. He gave his thanks again, before taking his first bite.

It was delicious.


	48. hot chocolate (fictober day 26)

**Fictober Day 26:** "You keep me warm."

* * *

This weather sucked.

It was getting closer and closer to the wintertime, something that was evident in the low temperatures outside. It was barely five o'clock, and the sun was already setting. Izumo scowled. Not only was it ridiculously cold, but they had to be out here to double-check all of the headmaster's barriers. It wasn't her damn fault that something had broken through.

What was worse was that they'd been sent out to do this in pairs. Who was she paired with? None other than Okumura Rin.

"At least we're done now," Rin said when he caught her grumbling about it for the twentieth time.

She rolled her eyes and said nothing at first. She supposed it could have been worse. She could have been stuck with that pervert Shima, or clumsy Moriyama. Who knew what would have happened if she got paired with Suguro. Being paired with Rin was the luckiest she could get.

That didn't mean it still didn't annoy her.

"Yeah," she muttered with a halfhearted shrug. "It took long enough. Let's go check-in so I can go home. I need a bath."

Rin gasped suddenly, standing stalk-still. Izumo kept walking unwaveringly, and only stopped when he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"What?" she snapped irritably.

"Look!" He pointed past her, eyes alight with excitement. "That café over there is selling hot chocolate!"

"And do you see my face? It's got 'I-don't-give-a-damn' written all over it."

"C'mon, Eyebrows! It's so cold. I'll pay for your drink! If there's too long of a line, we don't have to get any. But let's just take a look! Please?"

She gave him the most deadpan look she could muster. But then it came to her attention that he was still holding her wrist, and even when she yanked herself free, his enthusiasm didn't falter.

Inwardly, she sighed. If she refused, he'd look at her like she'd kicked his puppy. Which would be more annoying? A Rin who sulked all the way back to the classroom, or a Rin who beamed and wagged his tail like _he_ was the puppy?

At least, if he was sulking, he wouldn't talk to her.

But she _was_ cold.

"Fine," she answered briskly. "But you're keeping up your end of the deal. You said you'd pay."

"Of course," Rin said, grinning stupidly wide. "Let's go! C'mon."

He darted off toward the café without hesitation, and she would have rolled her eyes again if she had time. But he'd grabbed her arm again and was pulling her along for the ride.

Ten minutes later, they were walking out with identical steaming cups of hot cocoa. Izumo carefully brought it up to her lips, letting the sweet drink warm her up from the inside. Rin was happily swaying his hips.

"I love my sweet hot chocolate," he sang quietly, that dopey grin back on his face. "How much I loooove you. You keep me warmmm~"

"Oh, please. Just stop already," Izumo droned. "You're making me regret this."

And he had the audacity to look offended. "How could you regret hot chocolate? It's so yummy!"

"I didn't say it wasn't," she said. "I just told you to stop."

"Alright, alright. I'm stopping," Rin said, but continued to hum softly to himself as they made their way back to the cram school as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Or, rather, as Izumo tried to. But give minutes into their walk, when Rin had finally declared that it was cooled down enough that he could drink it without burning his tongue, he abruptly came to a stop.

This time, she did pause, raising a critical brow at him. "What now?"

"Oh, nothing, I just..." He paused, a frown lingering on his face. "I'll be right back."

"Jeez. Hurry, will you? It's freezing."

"I'll catch up, don't worry! Go on ahead!"

She scowled once more, not willing to admit that she couldn't go on ahead without him. Not because she was worried about him or afraid of the dark. But because she knew Rin—he'd get sidetracked some way or another, and if she didn't wait for him she wasn't sure if he'd get lost. And then his overprotective-but-not-willing-to-admit-he-was-overprotective twin brother would hold her responsible.

One minute. She'd give him one minute.

Shivering, she clung to her hot chocolate and watched as Rin jogged off toward some lone figure maybe twenty feet away. Watched as he knelt down to the figure. She couldn't hear a word he said, but she could see him taking off his gloves and handing them to the stranger, along with the precious hot beverage he'd so fondly sang about minutes before.

Then, with one final, reassuring grin, he was walking back toward her.

"Sorry," he said, but he was smiling ever-so-slightly. "I thought he looked really cold."

Ah. She understood now. Izumo nodded slowly, keeping up her usual mask of aggravation.

"It's whatever," she said with an apathetic shrug. "Just don't expect me to backtrack so you can get a new drink. And don't complain to me when your hands are cold."

Despite the fact that he'd seemed so excited about it, he told her it didn't matter anymore, that he was fine without so long as it meant somebody else was benefitting from what he'd given up.

That was so annoyingly like Rin.


	49. helping hand (fictober day 27)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your comments. 💙

**Fictober Day 27:** "Can you wait for me?"

* * *

Shiemi fidgetted nervously as she flipped her phone shut, frowning when she looked back at where Rin stood, smiling like a little kid who had just been told he could adopt a puppy.

Darn it. She would hate to ruin his good mood. But still... she didn't want to disappoint her mother, either.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way over to Rin. "Um... h-hey, Rin?"

"Yeah?" His smile could melt the coldest of hearts. "Are you re—oh. Is everything ok? You look worried."

"Um! Yeah! I just..." She hesitated. "My mom's got this big shipment of herbs coming, and she needs help unloading it. I didn't know about it until just now. I hate to ask, but... can you wait for me? I'll do my best to hurry, I promise!"

Rin blinked several times as her words sank in, and then his radiant grin was back. Maybe it was just her, but it seemed like Rin was always smiling. "Nah, it's no big deal. I don't mind." And then: "Actually... I could help out if you want? It'd go a lot quicker with three people!"

Her face felt warm and she hurried to shake her head. "No, th-that's ok! I couldn't ask you to do that."

"I really don't mind," Rin insisted. "We can use my magic key to get there faster."

"Are... are you sure?"

"'Course I'm sure!"

Reluctantly, Shiemi gave him a smile of her own. Out of all the people she knew, Rin had the biggest heart, always willing to help in some way. She finally nodded. "Alright. Let's go, then."

With the magic key, it only took seconds to get to her mother's shop. And her mother had been thrilled to know that Shiemi had brought extra hands. It also helped that Rin had the strength of somebody more than twice his size—he'd done a lot of the work himself.

On the last box, her mother asked, "Would you like some tea, Rin? It's the least I can do for your help."

"A-actually," Shiemi hurried to say, "we were going to the amusement park when we finished up. I thought... that I told you?"

"Oh, right, right," she said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I remember. You two have fun, then. I'm sorry to make you postpone your plans."

"Nah," Rin repeated. "I was happy to help."

Her mother's expression softened. "You're a sweetheart."

Shiemi smiled quietly at the way Rin's face went pink, at the way his eyes sparkled. Then he, too, smiled, although it was more delicate than usual. Murmured, "Thanks."

They left after that, and Rin said softly, "I forgot how nice your mom is."

"Yeah," Shiemi said, matching his low tone. "She's probably better than I deserve."

"Absolutely not," Rin said instantly, turning to face her. "You're a good person. You deserve the best."

She froze, not expecting him to come to her defense, let alone that fast. But the sincerity in his eyes told her he was speaking from his heart. Her chest felt warm. "You know... you deserve a lot better than how you've been treated, too."

Rin quieted, and for a moment, his eyes were wide, filled with a deep vulnerability that floored her almost immediately. But it was gone in seconds, buried like old treasure, and he looked as happy as could be. "Thanks, Shiemi." Then, after a heartbeat or two: "Let's get going, yeah?"

She blinked. "Uh... yeah, sure. Let's go."

Rin was beaming the entire time they'd been at the amusement park. He was beaming with each ride they went on, with each snack they bought, with each game they played. But brief as that look had been, it was raw enough to haunt her for the rest of the night.


	50. flustered (fictober day 28)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **a/n:** these are alREADY WRITTEN idk why it's so HARD for me to keep up
> 
> p.s. thank you, kind strangers, for all your lovely comments and kudos!! they mean a lot to me i'm sorry for falling behind on replies!

**Fictober Day 28:** "Enough! I heard enough."

* * *

Rin glanced up at the sound of humming. Shima had just walked into the classroom, and he was bobbing his head to the tune of something Rin could only vaguely make out. The big headphones resting on his head was a dead give away—he had music playing.

"Hey," Rin said immediately, standing from his desk. "Whatcha listenin' to?"

Shima glanced at him for a moment before taking out what of his earbuds. "Oh. This band I like came out with a new single. Wanna hear it?"

Rin grinned. "Sure!"

Shima mimicked the gesture and didn't hesitate to slide his headphones off so Rin could listen. He flinched at the loud volume, deciding only to use one cuff. Shima said, "Here. I'll start it over. The opening instrumental is really good."

Rin nodded in acknowledgment, waiting for it to play. Soon, he realized that Shima was right—the opening sequence really was amazing. It wasn't long before he was nodding his head to the music, seeing Shima smirk out of the corner of his eye.

"Good, right?"

"It's _awesome._ "

He listened as the first verse played, eyes widening when the beat dropped. Sick. Then came the chorus. The instruments blended flawlessly with the vocals. Then the notes became softer. Crisper. It was lovely.

The second verse followed. Rin listened to the lyrics, still nodding along occasionally. Really listened. The vocalist was singing about kissing his—

Wait.

Kissing.

Kissing was... when two people...

"Enough," Rin cried suddenly, yanking the headphones off as a blush crept onto his cheeks. "I heard enough."

Shima blinked, startled. "What? You don't like it?"

"N-no! It's good!" His blush darkened as he stubbornly looked away. "I was just... caught off guard by that line."

"What line?"

"You know. That one line."

"Actually, I don't know. You're going to have to tell me."

Rin could have crawled under a bridge and stayed there for the remainder of the week. Was Shima really going to make him say it? Out loud? "You know..." he repeated, fidgeting slightly. "About... him kissing... his partner... like. On the lips."

"Oh." Shima blinked again before a shit-eating grin took over his face. "What's the big deal? It's just kissing."

Rin promptly hid his face as if that would make it cool down faster. "I-it's a big deal, ok? You have to be really intimate with someone to do that, right? It's—"

He trailed off into incoherent mumbles, too flustered to continue. It went from bad to worse when Shima started cracking up.

"Shut up," Rin muttered. "Don't laugh at me."

"S-sorry." (Rin was sure he wasn't.) "I just... I didn't expect you to get so flustered, so easily." He patted Rin's shoulder as his laughter died down to quiet giggles. "Oh, my dear Okumura-kun. You have a lot to learn."

Rin let his head slam down on his desk. Didn't answer Shiemi when she came in asking what was wrong.


	51. talisman (fictober day 29)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **a/n:** thanks for the comments and kudos!!!

**Fictober Day 29:** "I'm doing this for you."

* * *

This lake had to be the grossest thing Suguro had ever seen.

For one, the water was green. _Green._ Not blue. It was no-doubt infested with bacteria, and who knew what kind of nasty things were swimming in there. Aquatic demons? Regular fish? He didn't want to find out.

Except...

"Don't tell me," he said, giving Moriyama a deadpan look. "You dropped the talisman in there."

"How the hell did you drop the talisman in the lake?" Shima asked, eyes bugling.

Moriyama flinched, her cheeks growing pink. "I—I didn't mean to! I, um. I... You see, I..."

"Dropped the talisman in the lake," Kamiki finished for her, looking as annoyed as Suguro felt. "You _do_ realize that we need it to complete this assignment, right?"

"We're doomed," Shima said dramatically, falling to his knees.

"I really didn't mean to," Moriyama said meekly. "I just... I tripped and..."

"It's ok, Moriyama-san," Konekomaru said, smiling softly. His eyes betrayed him; he looked uneasy. "We'll figure something out."

"Like what?" Shima moaned.

"I'll take full responsibility for my mistake," Moriyama said, nodding to herself, but her voice wobbled, which meant... oh, no. This girl was going to cry. It became even more evident when she continued, "I mean... th-they have to understand, right? Right?"

Nobody answered.

Moriyama sniffled.

"Wait, Shiemi," Okumura said suddenly. "Don't cry. Really. It's fine."

"It's not," Moriyama said, shaking her head. "I'm really sorry."

Suguro watched as her expression continued to crumble. And then, next to her, _Okumura's_ face began to crumble. Like seeing her cry physically pained him.

"Shiemi," he repeated, one hand coming to rest on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll get it back. Oh, could you hold this for me?"

Suguro's eyes popped as he was handed Okumura's cell phone. "Oh, like hell you're—"

"I'm doing this for you, Shiemi," he declared and darted into the water.

Suguro backpedaled immediately to avoid getting splashed, and he wasn't the only one. Kamiki let out a disgusted huff. Even Moriyama looked stunned, her tears drying immediately as she stared at the lake in shock.

It took a while. Okumura came up several times for air before diving back under, and the cycle repeated for a long time. Suguro wasn't sure how much time had passed, but right when he was about to call out that it was useless and they'd just have to take a failing grade, he popped back out of the water again, this time holding the very charm one clumsy Moriyama had dropped into the lake.

"Holy shit," Shima said. "He actually found it. I thought we'd be here for hours."

Okumura swam back to the shore and finally walked out of the murky water, wiping his face. His tail twitched with agitation.

"Told you," he said, letting the magical object fall into Moriyama's open hands.

"Actually," Suguro said, snatching it away from her. "I'll hold onto it for now. No offense."

Moriyama looked down in shame. "I'm sorry you had to get all wet, Rin."

Okumura shook his head. "Don't worry about it. No more tears, 'k?" Then he was wringing out his shirt and tie, and Suguro took another instinctive step back. "Now... let's hurry up and finish this. I want to get a shower in before Yukio finds out about this."

"I want to shower just _looking_ at you," Kamiki muttered.

Suguro sighed as they put some much-needed distance between them and the filthy lake. He couldn't believe he was thinking this, but he agreed with her.


	52. lost (fictober day 30)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the comments and kudos!!! 💙💙💙

**Fictober Day 30:** "I'm with you. You know that."

* * *

"...and I was thinkin' about postponing our training till Friday. Ok, Rin? Rin?"

Shura blinked when no response came, and a glance behind her showed no sign of Okumura Rin. Her eyes widened slowly, and she let out a low whistle.

"Uh oh," she said, before facing Yukio. "Oi, four-eyed chicken. We lost yer brother."

Yukio froze, whirling around. When he couldn't seem to find Rin, either, he expelled a long, patient breath. "Of course we did." His brow twitched, and he pursed his lips into a thin line. "Of course we lost Nii-san in this big store, where there are tons of things that he'd distract himself with. Of freaking _course_."

Shura's lips quirked upwards in amusement. "It's not a big deal. We'll find him. He's not a little kid."

Yukio shot her his most unimpressed look. "Are you hearing yourself?"

"...point taken."

Yukio was already fishing his phone out of his pocket, no doubt trying to call him. Immediately, a look of annoyance crawled over his face. "It went straight to voicemail."

"So his phone's dead," she said easily, deciding she was tired of standing still. Took a step forward, arms folding behind her head. "Big whoop."

"Which means I'm going to have to comb through this whole place just to find him."

"Hey." She glared at him halfheartedly. "Don't try to act like ya have to do this all by yerself. I'm with ya. You know that."

"I wish you weren't," he muttered.

Her amusement vanished and she turned her glare up a notch. Or two. Or ten. "Fine. I'll leave ya to yer own devices. I didn't want to come here, anyway."

"That's not what I meant," Yukio said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh? Then tell me, smart boy, what ya meant by that."

Another eye roll. Eventually, he said, "Let's just get a move on and find him. I don't want to be here all night."

And she did? Shura gave him one last frosty look before choosing to let it slide. The kid was already stressed enough at it was. No need to add to it (no matter how much fun that proved to be).

They circled back around to the market side of the store first to make sure he hadn't just lingered in an aisle for too long. When that didn't end well, they searched the toy section (Shura was almost positive they'd find him there but was ultimately proved wrong). Then they were in the entertainment section. No luck there, either.

"Ok, I'll admit it," Shura said with a hefty sigh. "This is gettin' on my nerves. Where the hell could he _be?_ "

Yukio seemed just as annoyed. "If I knew that, we wouldn't be searching for him."

"Smartass."

She leaned against a nearby shelf, crossing her arms. They'd been looking for the better part of twenty minutes. She'd originally thought that they'd be able to track him down without having to page him, but the damn kid was nowhere to be found. He wasn't giving them much of a choice.

"Hey! Shura! Four-Eyes!"

Shura's eye twitched. She turned her head to see the very boy they'd been searching for walking up to them with big, confident strides.

"This place has _everything,_ " he gushed happily as he beamed at them. "Check out this blanket! It's so soft!"

Yukio looked like he wanted to punch something. He and Shura shared a look that bled exasperation, and he deadpanned, "'He's not a little kid,' you said."

"Yeah, yeah, I know what I said," Shura muttered, pushing herself off the shelf. "Well, now that he's here, I'm ghostin'. This was such a waste of time."

Rin looked incredibly confused, still clutching the fleece blanket like it was some sort of charm that was meant to bring him good luck.

_Son of Satan my ass,_ Shura thought.


	53. mischief (fictober day 31)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the comments & kudos!!!!

**Fictober Day 31:** "Scared, me?"

* * *

"I heard this place is haunted."

Konekomaru's eyes widened slightly, moving his flashlight in Shima's direction. He swallowed nervously, brows knotted with worry. "Really?"

"Totally," Shima said nonchalantly and made a show of slowly sweeping his flashlight over the abandoned hallway. Konekomaru hesitantly followed it, prepared for something to leap out of the shadows that spilled from every corner. Prepared to see something he didn't want to see.

Bon, however, only rolled his eyes. "I mean, I don't doubt it. This place sure as hell _looks_ haunted."

"We're exorcists," Kamiki-san said, not looking pleased. "So what if it's haunted? We can protect ourselves."

That was true, but still. The atmosphere of this place was already spooky and unsettling, and Shima's comment wasn't making it any better. His gaze skitted back to the empty hallway. Tried not to let his imagination wander too much.

"I wonder..." Shima trailed off, looking back at them with exaggerated seriousness. "...if somebody died here."

A shiver crawled up Konekomaru's spine. "Shima-kun... cut it out."

Shima took a few steps forward, waving his hand dismissively. Konekomaru stayed put, waiting with anticipation as his friend continued walking and disappeared around the corner, flashlight still in hand.

"Shima-kun," Konekomaru repeated, rooted in place. "Come back here. It could be dangerous."

The only response he received was the echoing sound of Shima's footsteps.

"Actually, Konekomaru's right," Bon said, starting to walk after him. "This place is old and grimy, and we should probably leave. We got what Kirikagure-sensei asked for. Who knows what's down that hall. Get your ass back here."

No response.

Then, suddenly, Shima expelled a piercing, terrified scream, and the light from his flashlight disappeared.

Konekomaru's eyes popped again, and with a loud curse, Okumura-kun took off running. Bon followed in less than a second, and then Moriyama-san, and then Konekomaru himself. He barely caught Kamiki-san's annoyed huff before she was darting after them.

"Shima? Hey, Shima, are you ok?" Okumura-kun was asking, looking very concerned.

Konekomaru stood panting, not from his run but with fear, a bead of sweat rolling down his brow. He swept his flashlight around the room they were in now, his heart a thunderous drumbeat in his ears.

"...Shima-kun?" he whispered.

Nothing.

"Pffftt... you s-should see your faces," Shima suddenly said, gasping with laughter. He clicked his light back on to reveal his grinning face as he stepped out of his hiding place. "P-priceless!"

Konekomaru put a hand to his chest, drawing in a deep, cleansing breath. "That wasn't funny, Shima-kun."

"Yeah," Bon said, crossing his arms. "You had us worried for a second!"

"We thought you'd been hurt," Moriyama-san said quietly.

Shima just continued to chuckle, now holding his sides. Okumura-kun walked up to him and shone his light on his body as if actually checking him for injuries. Then he frowned. "That was a dirty trick."

"But I... I got you _good._ "

Konekomaru pursed his lips. As much as he cared for Shima, he should have known. It was just like Shima to pull a prank on them.

"Oi..." Shima said abruptly after he caught his breath from his spell of laughter. "Okumura-kun. I'm really ok. You can take your hand off my back."

Okumura blinked confusedly. "...that's not my hand."

Shima straightened, all traces of humor gone. "W-what? Just now. I felt your hand on my..."

"It wasn't me." Okumura-kun was starting to look worried now. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Don't tell me you're scared now," Kamiki-san said with a scowl.

"What?" A nervous giggle. "Scared, me? Nah."

"Shima," Okumura-kun murmured. "I can see you shaking already."

"M-maybe you guys were right," Shima said, suddenly walking off in the other direction, down the hallway they'd just ran through. He was moving at a pace that just kept getting faster. Called out, "Time to leave!"

Kamiki-san's scowl deepened. "What a wimp. He gets _us_ all worked up and then does that."

Konekomaru glanced uneasily at Okumura-kun. "You... were you serious?"

"Nah," he echoed in a whisper. "It was totally me."

Bon snorted. "You little shit."


	54. flower crowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >.< i'm sorry i am trash thank you for all the comments & kudos!! i will try to keep up with these!

**Prompt:** Flower crowns/Everything's better with tea

* * *

Yukio was not sure what he expected when he walked into his dorm door. He heard multiple voices on the other side, one of which belonged to Rin, and the other... was that Shiemi? It definitely sounded like Shiemi. Curiosity held him still as he listened to their conversation.

"...wow, that's really pretty, Shiemi," Rin was saying, his voice laced with awe. "Do you make these a lot?"

"Um, yeah, actually," Shiemi replied warmly, but timidly. "I didn't always go to my classes when I was younger, because I was really shy, so I had a lot of free time. My grandmother taught me how to make them."

"That's cool." Some shuffling. Footsteps. "I wish I could say my hobbies were that creative. I mean, look at all these colors! It smells nice, too."

A pause. "Thanks, Rin. Oh! But you cook a lot! That's really creative if you ask me!"

Rin chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose so. Yukio likes to remind me that it's the only thing I'm good at."

On the other side of the door, Yukio winced. That stung, but he supposed he deserved it. He did, after all, tell him that straight to his face. Several times. His hand hovered over the doorknob, hesitant to open it.

"I doubt he means it like that," Shiemi said, a tenderness in her words. "You're good at a lot of things."

"Good at getting myself into trouble," Rin said, still laughing. Then Yukio heard more shuffling, and Rin continued, "Yeah, I know he doesn't mean it like that. He's really stressed with his job, and I think that looking after me doesn't help much."

"You should give yourself more credit," Shiemi said gently. "You're always looking after us in class and making sure nobody gets hurt."

Rin was quiet. Yukio waited for him to speak again, or for Shiemi to say something else. But they descended into a soft silence. Without reading their faces, Yukio couldn't determine if it was peaceful or full of tension. Finally, he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. "Nii-san, I'm home."

"Oh, hi, Yuki-chan," Shiemi said in greeting, smiling up at him as she set her teacup beside her feet. "We were just talking about you."

"You were, huh?" he murmured in amusement. They didn't need to know that he already was aware of this fact.

She and Rin were both sitting on the floor, looking at him as soon as he walked in. Shiemi was dressed in her kimono, and he blinked in confusion when he saw the small flower headband resting on her head. It was tiny and beautiful, the petals a soft pink, woven intricately in the shape of a crown.

It shouldn't have surprised him that Rin was wearing one, too. The flowers on his crown were a delicate purple, shaped to fit his head perfectly. Even Kuro had one, pink like Shiemi's. It shouldn't have shocked him at all. But it did, for some reason, and he found himself blinking several more times.

"Yeah," Rin said, with an innocent grin. "No worries, though. All good things. Check out what Shiemi made!"

"I see it," Yukio said, with a small nod. "It's beautiful, Shiemi."

Color pooled in her cheeks and she smiled. "Thanks, Yuki-chan."

"I'm sure she could make one for you." Rin was pushing himself off the floor, touching the crown on his head like it was made of glass that would shatter under the slightest pressure. "Right, Shiemi?"

"Sure! But um, we'll have to go back to the garden for that," Sheimi said, with a tinge of remorse. "Maybe you could wait a little bit? We could use your key, Rin, like before!"

Rin snapped his fingers. "That's a good idea!"

"Actually, I'm fine without one," Yukio said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Thank you for the offer, though."

Rin and Shiemi paused, looking a little more disappointed than Yukio would have liked, and he inwardly sighed. Oh, no. He hadn't meant to hurt Shiemi's feelings. Rin, while very good at playing the wounded one, would probably get over it if he offered him some kind of food, but he didn't know how Shiemi would fair.

Which meant one thing: he was probably going to regret this.

"Alright, alright," he said with an audible sigh this time. "Go get what you need. I'll wait."

The way their faces lit up with excitement was almost comical, and the slightest bit touching. Like two children who had just been told they were having their favorite meal for supper. Soon Yukio was stepping out of their way, and his expression softened as he watched them go.

_Those two,_ flitted through his mind, with a slight shake of his head. His smile remained. _I swear..._


	55. babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ahem* i can explain

**Prompt:** "It wouldn't hurt to try." / babysitting [prompt from **anon** on [tumblr!](https://digidestinedninjaofsunshine.tumblr.com/)]

* * *

"I can't believe this is happening," Izumo deadpanned, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. "This is so stupid."

And she was right—this was absolutely ridiculous, standing here, with her arms full of stuffed plushies—one a bear, and the other a cat. What was she, five? Not to mention, it was all that damned Suguro's fault for roping them into this. He'd gone and scared off that stupid kid with his shouting, and now they were stuck desperately trying to get her to come out of hiding.

Honestly. She could be home right now, eating a hot meal and preparing a nice bath. But _no,_ she couldn't leave until they returned this girl to her guardians.

What a pain.

"Are you even sure this will work, Rin?" Moriyama asked timidly, looking around uncertainly as if expecting the child to pop up out of nowhere.

"Even if it doesn't, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try," Rin answered casually.

Pfft. That was easy for him to say. He wasn't the one walking around with humiliating kid toys (ok, so maybe the cat one was cute, but that was beside the point). Nor was he the one who spent money on a baked good from the café across the street in an attempt to coax the girl out of hiding. God, this was so annoying.

"What kind of kid would resist stuffed animals and a treat?" Shima said, shaking the tiny paper bag gently as he spoke.

"I'll give you a hint," Suguro said. "She's standing in front of you, holding said stuffed animals with a pissed-off look on her face."

Izumo's brow twitched. "I heard that."

"Yeah, and you were meant to."

An agitated sound left her lips and she shot Suguro a cold look. "I wouldn't be so sassy if I were you. This is your damn fault. You had to go and raise your voice."

"How was I supposed to know she was already separated from her mom? And I wasn't yelling at her, either," Suguro said. "I was talking to Okumura—"

"Now, guys," Miwa said hesitantly, hands coming up in a peaceful gesture. "Let's not argue. If she's nearby, we don't want to scare her off anymore."

"I hope she's still nearby," Moriyama murmured, with a hint of concern. "This area is pretty full of people. What if she got hurt, or taken by someone who wasn't one of her parents?"

"Don't worry, Shiemi," Rin continued with a relaxed nod. "I know where she went."

"If you know where she went, then what are we doing, still standing here?" Izumo snapped, frowning.

Rin was not deterred by the ice in her voice. He shot them a lazy, carefree grin. "Because if we all go over there at once, it might scare her. We have to do this carefully."

Izumo bit back a frosty retort. It wasn't like he had much experience with young children, but then, neither did she. Izumo couldn't even call him out without looking a little silly herself.

"Whatever," she decided to say, tightening her grip on the two stuffed animals she was still carrying.

Rin continued to wait patiently, slowly taking the paper bag from Shima. Izumo tapped her foot with noticeably _less_ patience but remained silent despite her irritation. She supposed she should be used to getting into situations like this by now. It happened all the damn time. If her classmates were together in a place that wasn't their cram school classroom, then she should have known they were going to get into some kind of trouble.

"Maybe you should stay back here, Suguro," Rin said finally, with a determined nod. "Since you're the one who scared her."

"I told you that I—"

"Yeah, I know." Rin waved his hand distractedly. Flippantly. "But still. I'm going to go try to talk to her on my own—wait. Actually, Shiemi, maybe you could come with me. You're friendly enough."

"Are you calling the rest of us unfriendly?" Shima accused, pretending to look hurt. "Okumura-kun. How rude."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Rin said with a good-natured eye roll. "Shiemi? Are you ok with that?"

"Um, sure," she answered. "Kamiki-san? Can I have the toys?"

Izumo dropped them into her open hands like they were filthy. "They're all yours."

She watched as the two of them slowly crossed the street. Watched as Rin knelt down in front of some sort of street stand, but they were now far enough away that she couldn't hear a word he was saying. Nor did she hear what Moriyama was saying to the street vendor, who was nodding, his expression slightly grim.

Izumo half-expected to be waiting here for a while. It had already taken the better part of twenty minutes to get the toys and food as bait, but they didn't know if the girl would just come right out and—

Izumo's eyes widened ever-so-slightly when a tiny child came crawling out from the table that she was hiding under, regarding Rin with just a breath of hesitation before flinging herself into his arms.

Well. Izumo stood corrected.

Moriyama bowed quickly to the street vendor before gently handing the girl the plush cat. Rin drew himself up to his full height, securing the child on his hip as she happily took her first bite of a lukewarm cookie, before turning to head back towards them.

Wait a minute. She knew that look on his face. He was about to ask them for a favor or some shit.

"Hey, guys," Rin said cheekily. "So, ready for the next step?"

"Next step?" Shima echoed. "What does that mean?"

"Well, we have to find her parents."

Izumo had to suppress a groan. Right. She already knew this, but it was still annoying. Why couldn't Rin and Moriyama do it by themselves, since the girl seemed to like them so much? Izumo was not a babysitter.

"Alright." Miwa was walking diligently toward Rin, a kind smile on his face. "Can you tell us where your mother could have gone? Were you on an errand? What's your name?"

The girl's fingers fisted into Rin's shirt, and she buried her face into Rin's shoulder in a way that was totally not cute. Not at all. Rin murmured, "Her name is Nao."

"Ok, Nao," Miwa tried again. He continued speaking in that same voice, asking questions very gently until Nao was whispering things near Rin's ear that Izumo couldn't quite catch.

Oh, brother. This was going to take a while.


	56. misplaced (december prompts day 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for the comments & kudos!!

**[December Prompts](https://wyseink.tumblr.com/post/180979721795/december-writing-prompts-dialogue) / Day 1: **"Where's my jacket?"

* * *

Suguro was so engrossed in the task of gathering his books and getting his homework together that he almost forgot to put a coat on before heading out. It only struck him when he was opening the door that led outside, and a rope of chilly wind bit into his skin, that yeah, it was pretty damn cold outside. It was mid-November, after all—and early in the morning, at that.

So he turned on his heel, very nearly crashing into an unsuspecting Konekomaru. Said boy stumbled backward in surprise.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot my jacket," he said gruffly. "I'll be right back. You go on ahead."

"Ok," Konekomaru said with a nod. "Be careful."

He hummed in reply. Well, _somebody_ had to tell Shima to hurry the hell up. They were going to be late at this point.

Backtracking didn't take long. But when he reached the dorm and scanned the room, he didn't see his jacket anywhere. Not around the beds. Or near the desks. Which meant, damn it, was he going to have to face the cold without any kind of protection.

"Oi. Shima," he called, brow twitching. "Where's my jacket?"

Shima glanced up, blinking in confusion. He was currently putting his tie together, half out the door. "Uh, I don't know?"

That was fucking peachy. With an annoyed sigh, Suguro set about checking the dorm again to see if he missed something. And then again. By the time he started his third round, he was pretty damn sure his efforts were pointless. Wherever it was, it wasn't here.

"Oh well," he grumbled to himself with a scowl as he made his way back down the stairs. "It is what it is."

At least he had his blazer. That counted for something. Damn it, he hated winter for this very reason. It was too inconvenient.

The walk to school was a painful one. By the time he reached the academy, he was covered in goosebumps and had to bite his lip to keep his teeth from chattering. The wind-chill hadn't made it any better. He was unbelievably relieved that the inside of the school was warm.

"Are you sure you're ok, Bon?" Konekomaru asked worriedly, brows knitted together as he studied him. "I'm sorry you couldn't find your coat."

"It's no big deal," he said dismissively. "It's around the dorm somewhere. It's gotta be."

Konekomaru looked unconvinced, but eventually nodded and headed to his first class with a hesitant wave. Suguro worked his jaw.

This was so irritating. At least it was only his jacket and not say, his textbooks or his wallet. _That_ would have been a pain in the ass.

The rest of the day crawled by achingly slowly. Some of his class periods gave him free time to work on his studies, but since he'd already finished the majority of his homework, he was left bored and wondering what awaited him after regular school hours.

Then. Then lunch hour arrived, and he scowled as he realized this meant he'd have to go back out into the cold to get food.

_Whatever. You've been through worse. Suck it up._

"Oi, Suguro!"

Suguro paused in his steps upon hearing Okumura's voice, arching a brow as he turned slowly to see the kid running up to him like he was in a hurry. "Hey, Okumura. What do you want?"

"I've been looking all over for you," he said instantly. "See, you left this in the cram school after class yesterday and—"

" _That's_ where it went," Suguro interrupted, eyes widening as Okumura pulled his jacket out of his bag. "Why do you have it?"

Okumura shot him a look. "I was kind of explaining that part, Suguro."

"Right, right. Give it here, will you?"

Okumura complied easily. "You left it in there after Yukio's class yesterday, and when I noticed it you'd already left, and then I couldn't find you, so I took it home, and I guess I could have used my magic key to go to your dorm but then I thought maybe that would have been rude to drop by unannounced so I was gonna give it to you in the morning and I—"

"Ok, ok," Suguro said hastily, cutting off Okumura's anxious rambling by raising his hand. "I get it, alright? I get it. It's not a big deal. And, uh, thanks."

Okumura was quiet a moment, taking in a deep breath. Then he was grinning, flashing him a thumbs-up. "No prob! Oh, and I washed it for you, too. Kinda seemed like it needed it. Anyway, see you at cram school!"

Suguro blinked as Okumura suddenly darted off, watching him go with a stunned expression. Then, finally, his words caught up with him, and Suguro suddenly found himself snarling. "Hey, Okumura! You just—what do ya mean by 'it seemed like it needed it'?!"

Okumura started laughing. Didn't stop running. So Suguro chased after him.

"Hey! Get back here, ya monkey!"


	57. petals (december prompts day 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the comments & kudos 💙 they are much appreciated!!

**[December Prompts](https://wyseink.tumblr.com/post/180979721795/december-writing-prompts-dialogue) / Day 2: **"Let me be."

* * *

The cherry blossom leaves were falling like snowflakes, pulled gently from the tree branches by the crisp spring wind, dusting over the fresh grass. They were truly beautiful, Shiemi thought, her lips curving into a smile. She saw thousands of trees in her life—she was a gardener, after all. She'd been surrounded by plants since she was an infant. But it had been a while since she saw a cherry blossom tree in full bloom like this. Years, most likely.

In the silver moonlight, they seemed to glow. It only made the sight all the more breathtaking.

"Rin?" she said, not taking her eyes off the tree in front of her. The breeze had stopped, and so the petals stood still again. "Thank you for coming out here with me."

"Of course," Rin said instantly. "I'm glad to get out of that dorm. Besides, it's been a while since I got to see something like this."

Her smile grew soft. Tender. "I was thinking the same thing."

He chuckled. "I tried to get Yukio to come out and see it, but he's always saying the same thing. 'Oh, let me be. I've got papers to grade.'"

There was a small pause as Shiemi joined him in his laughter. "I hope Yuki-chan's not working himself too hard."

"I'm keeping an eye on him." She could hear the grin in his voice. "Actually, he likes to think that he's keeping an eye on me. Maybe that's true. But I'm the older brother."

Sometimes she forgot that little detail. She'd known Yuki-chan longer than she'd known Rin—but still, it did seem like Yuki-chan was the older one. She always thought that Yuki-chan shouldered more responsibility, more weight.

But then she'd found out that Rin was half-demon, and Yuki-chan was fully human. That itself was an enormous burden. She often wondered how Rin was the one who was always smiling. Racing to cheer everyone up. Giving parts of himself to others until there was nothing left to give. He didn't deny that he was a demon, not anymore—but he didn't let it control him, either.

There were so many things Rin could be angry about. There were so many things over which he could hold a grudge. But Rin was not one to hold onto the past. He didn't let bitterness consume him. He was such a gentle spirit. Every time she thought about it, it amazed her.

"Rin?" she repeated, softer this time. Her voice was as quiet as whispers of wind threading through her hair, tugging at her kimono. "Do you ever think... that things didn't turn out the way you thought they would?"

"All the time," he answered without hesitation. "What about you?"

"I... I think about it a lot, too," she murmured, the smile on her face faltering. "Two years ago, I wouldn't have known that I'd end up as a student at the cram school."

Rin was quiet for a few moments. She finally risked a glance at him, instantly taking note of his contemplative expression. His eyes were shining underneath the pale light of the moon. Suddenly he looked too wise, like he was much older than he looked.

Shiemi nearly jumped, startled, when he pushed himself to his feet. She blinked, her lips parting to whisper his name, but chose to remain silent as he walked closer to the cherry blossom tree. Then he was swooping down to the ground, collecting stray petals, and turned around to face her again.

"Things never turn out the way we expect them to," Rin said finally. Quietly. "But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing."

As he spoke, he was walking up to her. Moved with such grace that it put her clumsiness to shame. Slowly, he knelt down in front of her, holding his hand out, and when she cupped hers underneath it, he let the petals fall into her open palms.

"We always have a chance for a new beginning," he went on, eyes crinkling with a smile. "It's just like this tree. Later in the year, it'll lose all its petals, but they'll grow back again. And they'll be just as beautiful as they were before. It'll have its own fresh start, just like we do."

His words struck her so deeply that her eyes began to sting. She'd often heard that spring was the season of rebirth, of new beginnings. But hearing the words from Rin... it seemed different, somehow. Like it had a whole new meaning. Like it was a promise.

She liked this new promise.


	58. abandoned (december prompts day 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the comments & kudos!! you have no idea how encouraging they are, I really want to come back to this story!!!

**[December Prompts](https://wyseink.tumblr.com/post/180979721795/december-writing-prompts-dialogue)** **// Day 3:** "Who did you say that was again?"

* * *

His tail was flicking back and forth in an annoyed manner that was reminiscent of a grumpy cat. Shima tried to ignore it at first, attempting instead to focus on his studies—his last test grade proved he needed to step up his game, after all, lest he make it even worse—but it was smashing around like a whip, striking the ground over and over again with brute force. It was a distraction that was kind of difficult to ignore. Especially when he, Okumura-kun, and Izumo-chan were the only ones here, having been ditched by the rest of their classmates in favor of grabbing some food.

They were in the middle of a secluded park, somewhat hidden by the playground equipment but not completely. Usually, when they were out in public like this, his tail would remain safely tucked in his shirt, out of sight. But it was out in the open now for passersby to see, which meant one thing:

Okumura Rin was _pissed_.

"Okumura-kun?" he called out softly, brows raised. "What's, uh, what's the matter?"

Okumura-kun was scowling. The textbook in his lap had long-since been abandoned, and his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles were white. "Over there. Don't you see it?"

He nodded his head toward the edge of the park where the trees started, and Shima blinked. And blinked again. When he saw nothing, he turned back to his classmate in confusion. "See what?"

Oops. Wrong answer. This was proved when Okumura-kun jumped to his feet, the textbook tumbling uselessly to the grass, as he seethed quietly. "There! She tied up her dog to that tree and she left it there! Without water or food! On a hot day like this!"

Shima winced, sending a pleading look toward Izumo-chan for help, only to find that she was completely ignoring them, buried deep in her assignment. Gulping, he looked back at Okumura-kun. "...who did you say that was again? That left... the dog?"

"I don't know who it was, specifically," Okumura-kun went on, crossing his arms. "I just saw her tie it up and assumed it was temporary. But it's been an hour, Shima! An hour! Actually, you know what? Fuck this. I'm going to get it."

He raced off without another word, running so fast that it took Shima by surprise. He watched him go for another few moments before turning to the only other classmate who hadn't left yet. "Um, Izumo-chan?"

She didn't look up.

"Izumo-chan? Hey, Izo—"

"Ugh. What do you want?" she snapped, aggressively putting her pencil down.

He chuckled nervously, a bead of sweat gathering at his brow. "Uh, do you think it's a good idea that Okumura-kun just ran off? I mean, Bon and the others will be back soon and—"

"He'll come back," she said flatly but offered no other elaboration.

"Ah... right."

Shima wasn't so sure. He craned his neck to see if he could still see Okumura-kun. At first, he couldn't, but then something in the distance caught his eye. Sunlight glinting off metal. Shima squinted.

Ah. That must have been the dog Okumura-kun was talking about. But then that meant—

"Shit," he hissed, closing his textbook. "He's _actually_ going to bring it back here."

Izumo-chan rolled her eyes. "He said he would, didn't he? What did you expect? This is Rin we're talking about."

That... was true. Shima pondered over this for a moment, blinking owlishly, before he frowned. The poor thing. He didn't like getting into potentially troubling situations—because what if the lady Okumura-kun saw came back was mad that he'd untied it?—but no animal deserved to be chained up for an extended period of time. It wasn't _too_ hot, but the sun was out and it was relatively warm. It had to be thirsty by now.

One thing was for sure: Okumura-kun looked significantly _less_ angry as he slowly guided the dog over to their study group. As he neared them, he could hear Okumura-kun cooing, "...have some water for you, girl."

"Is it ok?" Shima asked, swallowing. The change in his attitude was almost jarring.

"Yeah, she doesn't seem hurt or anything," Okumura-kun answered. "Probably just hungry or thirsty. Isn't she cute? We'll find a place for you to go, don't worry, little girl. Hey, Shima, hand me that water bottle, please?"

Shima blinked again. "Uh... yeah, sure."

Izumo-chan spared them a curious glance but stubbornly looked away when Shima caught her looking. He started to grin, but when he met Okumura-kun's eyes, that image of his tail thrashing around flitted through his mind and it faltered.

He wasn't scared of Okumura-kun, not really. The kid was like a kitten on most days.

But getting on his bad side was out of the question.


	59. selfish (december prompts day 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for the comments & kudos!! happy Nano!!!

**[December Prompts](https://wyseink.tumblr.com/post/180979721795/december-writing-prompts-dialogue) / Day 4: **"I thought you knew better."

* * *

Rin leapt around the rooftop, panting as he struggled to keep up with Kuro's fast pace. Usually, he had no problem keeping up with his familiar during training sessions like this. But each jump, each lunge, each hit was getting harder and harder to track. Even with their telepathic bond, predicting Kuro's every move was a difficult task when he was busy trying to think of ways to get the upper hand on him.

Tonight, however, was different. Rin wasn't into their spar at all.

And it seemed like Kuro could tell, too, because eventually, he slowed to a halt, looking at Rin with open concern as he shrunk down to his smaller form. "Rin? What's wrong?"

Rin heaved breath after breath as he stopped in front of his familiar. "S'nothing. I'm fine."

Kuro gave him an unconvinced look, blinking slowly. "You seem really distracted today."

Maybe that was because he was. A few days ago, he was making significant progress in his training—with Shura, and with Kuro. But then his demonic identity had been spilled and everything just spiraled. He desperately needed to focus on what was going to come next. After all, the Vatican wanted him dead, and his friends didn't want anything to do with him.

_Che. I thought you knew better,_ his mind whispered. _Dwelling on the past isn't going to do any good._

"Is that what this is about?" Kuro asked, pressing himself against Rin's ankle. "Your friends?"

Rin sighed, slowly sinking down to the ground. "I don't think they're my friends anymore, bud."

It wasn't something wanted to admit out loud, but he couldn't hide from the truth. He was the son of the demon that everyone feared, whether he chose it or not. He didn't blame them for being angry or scared. Especially after he'd lied to them for so long.

What choice did he have, though?

Kuro frowned. "They'll come around, Rin. You're a wonderful person!"

Rin swallowed, one hand reaching down to pet Kuro's head affectionately. This elicited a soft purr from him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he chirped, but his face fell when he saw Rin was still not smiling. "There's something else, isn't there?"

He was silent for a few moments. It was stupid, actually. Maybe even insensitive. But... "Is... is it wrong for me to be mad?"

A blink. "About what?"

"I just..." He drew in a deep, cleansing breath. "They said they trusted me, Kuro! They said they were my friends! But friends don't turn on each other so quickly, do they? But then—" He expelled a sharp, humorless laugh. "—what do I know? It's not like I've ever had friends before. Maybe... maybe this is normal."

Kuro said nothing at first. Rin didn't even look at him; he was doing his best not to seethe. He didn't want to be mad at his friends. He really didn't. They were all good people, and they deserved the world. But... but it was just _not right._ What had he done wrong, anyway? If he hadn't fought with Aimaimon, then Shiemi could have been killed.

"I don't know if it's normal, Rin," Kuro answered finally. "But it's ok for you to be angry."

"But I—" Tears pricked at his eyes, and he hurried to blink them away. "I just... I want things to go back to the way they used to be. No stupid camping trip. No Aimaimon. It's dumb, and it's selfish, but I... I can't help it."

"You're allowed to be selfish sometimes," Kuro assured. "You feel the way you feel. You're entitled to that. Feel angry tonight. Maybe it'll be better tomorrow."

"Maybe," he said. Echoed, "Thanks, Kuro."

Kuro probably deserved a lot more than a thank you. He understood him in a way that no one else could. Not his friends. Not Shura. Not Yukio. But right now, at this moment, it was all he could give.

Kuro didn't ask for more. He beamed at him and repeated, "You're welcome. Now..." A hint of mischief entered his eyes. "Ready for round two?"

Rin let out another long, slow breath. Then, finally, gradually, he smiled. "Sure."


End file.
